WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Equal Pay

Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether an equal pay audit has been conducted for the Women and Equality Unit.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 3 December 2007
	 The Women and Equality Unit ceased to exist on 26 July this year when the formation of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) was announced. However, the GEO did not become a new Department until the transfer of functions order went through on 12 October this year.
	As a result, the GEO will be conducting its first equal pay audit in 2008.
	The Women and Equality Unit (WEU) was not a stand alone Department so no separate equal pay audit was ever conducted for it. The WEU was located successively within the Department for Social Security (as the Women's Unit), the Cabinet Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department for Communities and Local Government. An equal pay audit was conducted by the Cabinet Office using spring 2002 data. This review is likely to have included WEU staff in the Cabinet Office at that time, although this can not be confirmed as the review does not specify units or individuals. The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently conducting an equal pay review using June 2007 pay data, and this will include WEU staff paid by that Department at that time.

Forced Marriage Unit

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many alleged incidents of forced marriage have been reported to the Government's Forced Marriage Unit in each year since its establishment.

Barbara Follett: The Forced Marriage Unit was established in 2005 as the Government's one stop shop for dealing with forced marriage casework, policy and projects.
	The Forced Marriage Unit receives 5,000 inquiries and handles approximately 300 cases a year. Subject to concerns about maintaining confidentiality, a new system to capture data on cases will be implemented next year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 469, on Bangladesh: overseas aid, what the estimated end of year financial position is for each country where his Department is active according to the latest expenditure forecast; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Indicative budgets for country programmes for 2007-08 were published in the Department for International Development's 2007 Annual Report published in May 2007 [HC 514]. We are planning to fully spend the budget allocations.

Lesotho: Overseas Aid

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on the Lesotho Highlands Water project.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government provided support to the Lesotho Highlands Water programme in 1987 and to the Highland Water scheme (Phase I and II) and the Lesotho Delegation of the Highlands Water Commission from 1999 to January 2005. Funding was mainly in the form of engineering technical assistance.
	There have been no other interventions by the UK, nor have we received any representations since then.

Lesotho: Overseas Aid

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects his Department has supported in Lesotho in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The UK bilateral programme to Lesotho is approximately £5 million.
	We have co-ordinated closely with the UN in Maseru in response to the current drought. DFID provided £500,000 through UNICEF to ensure people have access to clean water. We are also the largest donor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which has allocated US $4.74 million to the humanitarian response.
	The European Union's ninth European Development Framework (EDF 9) provided funds of €104 million to Lesotho between 2002 and 2007. DFID's imputed share of this is approximately 17 per cent. The key areas covered were: water and sanitation, road transport, macro-economic support and capacity building, HIV and AIDS, trade and regional integration.
	The following table shows projects that DFID has supported in the last three years:
	
		
			  Name of programme  Start  to E nd dates  Sector  Funds (£000) 
			 Lesotho Revenue Authority: Phase 1 March 2002 to March 2006 Governance 3,200 
			 Lesotho Justice Sector Development Programme August 2003 to November 2007 Justice 2,100 
			 Lesotho Textile Project February 2004 to February 2009 Trade 1,500 
			 Lesotho Priority Support Programme: Job Creation/Food Security April 2004 to May 2009 Trade Food Security 1,900 
			 Lesotho Poverty Reduction Strategy Foundation Programme September 2004 to November 2008 Governance Public Financial Management 5,000 
			   Support to Civil Society  
			   Donor Harmonisation  
			   Poverty Monitoring  
			 
			 
			 Lesotho Priority Support Programme: HIV&AIDS Programme November 2004 to May 2009 Health/HIV 1,800 
			 Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight Aids January 2005 to March 2007 Health/HIV 300 
			 Support to Vulnerable Rural Households in Lesotho (FAO) November 2005 to August 2006 Food Security 350 
			 Lesotho Revenue Authority: Phase 2 September 2006 to March 2009 Governance 2,930 
			 Potato Culture Project February 2007 to September 2008 Science and Technology 55 
			 Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (UNICEF) October 2007 to March 2008 Humanitarian 500

Overseas Aid: Disease Control

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's bilateral spending is directed towards  (a) tuberculosis and  (b) tuberculosis/HIV; whether the UK's strategy on HIV and AIDS for 2008 to 2012 will include a specific target on tuberculosis/HIV co-infection reduction; and what steps he plans to take to support an integrated response to tuberculosis and HIV in other countries.

Shahid Malik: DFID bilateral expenditure on HIV and AIDS activities in 2006-07 was £348 million and bilateral expenditure targeting communicable disease control, including tuberculosis, was £79 million. There is additional DFID spending on poverty reduction budget support and health system strengthening which help address all major causes of ill health, including TB and HIV. We are unable to systematically capture the amount spent on HIV/TB collaborative activities.
	The UK's updated strategy on HIV and AIDS will include addressing TB/HIV co-infection. DFID strongly supports an integrated response to TB and HIV. We support this through a range of different channels including our support to international organisations and partnerships, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, the Stop TB Partnership and funding research into HIV/TB co-infection.

Overseas Aid: Disease Control

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he plans to take to facilitate the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria reaching its target size of US$ 8 billion by 2010.

Shahid Malik: At the Global Fund Executive Board in April 2007, members acknowledged that the size of the fund would increase, dependent on high quality demand from countries and improved performance of the fund itself. Three scenarios of future demand had been prepared by the Secretariat, the highest one assuming that demand would rise more than fourfold by 2010, and that $8 billion per annum would be needed to support these new proposals and continue with existing programmes (representing $18 billion for the period 2008-10). The G8 noted the projected demands and pledged to work with the other donors to replenish the fund, and to provide long-term predictable funding based on ambitious but realistic demand driven targets.
	Donor pledges and Secretariat projections now total $9.7 billion for the period 2008-10. This is a highly significant increase in resources, which allows the fund to support a substantial expansion of all ongoing programmes, and all of the new proposals which have been recommended by the Technical Review Panel, while still leaving over $750 million available for future proposals. Thus all the high quality demand for financing the current round of proposals has been met.
	But the UK's own pledge goes beyond this. The UK has made an unprecedented long-term commitment over the eight years up to 2015, of up to £1 billion. Within this framework we announced a commitment of £360 million over the three year replenishment period, of which £30 million is subject to demand and results. This 20 per cent. increase in our commitment means that we have maintained our share of the total replenishment at about 7.5 per cent. In addition, we also pledged a further £640 million from 2011-15, providing the global fund is receiving good quality demand, continues to perform well and is demonstrating sustainable impact.

World Bank: Loans

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on  (a) acceptable and  (b) unacceptable conditionality for lending in relation to World Bank lending policy; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: World Bank conditionality for lending must be in line with the Bank's policy. In 2004, the Bank abolished its use of prescriptive conditionality—the practice of pushing specific reforms. Following a review in 2005, it adopted the good practice principles on conditionality. These principles stress the importance of country ownership and commit the Bank to ensure that conditions are limited to those critical for the programme's success and are customised to individual country circumstances. In 2006, the Bank committed to avoiding conditions in sensitive policy areas such as privatisation, unless they are critical to the effectiveness of a programme and there is clear evidence of ownership by the developing country government. The UK has made it clear to the World Bank that we expect all lending to respect the commitments it has made in the last few years.

World Bank: Loans

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what response he has made to the World Bank's review of Conditionality in Development Policy published on 15 November 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The World Bank's 2007 report on Conditionality in Development Policy Lending incorporates findings from consultations in eight developing countries with governments and other stakeholders. It also draws on external studies and reports.
	The report highlights continued improvements in the bank's practice on conditionality. The average number of conditions per bank policy-based operation in low-income countries fell from 32 in 1999 to 12 in 2006 and in 2007. There has also been a reduction in conditions in "sensitive areas" and the number of privatisation conditions is low. The consultations highlighted that the bank's practice has improved in respecting country ownership and increasing opportunities to debate policy options.
	The report acknowledges there is room for improvement and makes further recommendations, notably the need to involve local counterparts more fully in policy formulation and analytical work, and the need to strengthen the use of poverty and social impact analysis by bank staff.
	The findings of the report and the bank's commitment to further improve its performance in this area are encouraging. We continue to maintain pressure on the bank to ensure that it fulfils its commitments on the use of conditionality.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Recycling

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recycling scheme is in operation in each building operated by his Department.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department introduced a new waste management system at its Cockspur Street offices in January 2007. This includes the recycling of paper, cardboard, glass and cans. The scheme is currently being extended to its offices at Tottenham Court Road.

English Language

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on English language classes for staff in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the last year, January 2007 to January 2008, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has spent £0 on English language classes for staff. The Department has two staff currently participating in English language classes organised through Learn Direct but no financial costs will accrue.

National Identity Register

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to make use of data on the National Identity Register when it is established; and what the estimated cost to his Department of that use is.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department will be working with the Home Office prior to the introduction of the National Identity Scheme to establish how identity information held on the proposed National Identity Register might be used to provide easier access to our services for our customers. It is too early in the process to establish the detailed costs and benefits.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Christmas Cards

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007.

David Cairns: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Scotland Office incurred no expenditure on Christmas cards in 2007 as an e-card and surplus stock from previous years were used.
	 (b) No separate record was kept of the expenditure on postage specifically for Christmas cards in 2007.

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2007,  Official Report, column 746W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed  (a) as special advisers and  (b) in a political role in each year since 1997.

David Cairns: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information, I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, 147-51WS.
	Information on the numbers and costs of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Departmental Marketing

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many branded plastic bags the Electoral Commission has purchased in the last 24 months for which figures are available; and at what cost.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it purchased 1,000 branded carrier bags in July 2006 and 3000 in September 2006 at a total cost of £2,477.37 including VAT.

Electoral Register

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what research the Electoral Commission has commissioned from NOP on electoral registration; and at what cost.

Peter Viggers: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 13 December,  Official Report, column 768W.

Local Government: Norfolk

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the review by the Boundary Committee for England into restructuring of local government in Norfolk is a review under the  (a) Local Government Act 1992 and  (b) Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

Peter Viggers: Section 4 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 states that the Secretary of State may request the Boundary Committee to advise on any matter that relates to a proposal for unitary status. The 2007 Act also repeals the power of the Secretary of State under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1992 to request the Electoral Commission to recommend whether a structural or boundary change should be made in a specified area.
	The Electoral Commission informs me that the Boundary Committee for England has not yet received any such request and that it has not yet commenced a review of local government in Norfolk. The committee has, however, carried out preparatory work following the announcement in July 2007 that the Secretary of State is minded to make such a request.

Local Government: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many performance indicators the Electoral Commission is setting for local authorities.

Peter Viggers: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 767W.

TREASURY

Child Benefit: Personal Records

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date HM Revenue and Customs first informed the police of the loss of the computer discs containing the data of child benefit claimants.

Jane Kennedy: The former Chairman of HMRC, Paul Gray, asked the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to investigate the loss of the child benefit datadisks on 15 November 2007.

Council Tax Benefits: Scotland

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account would be taken of a local income tax in Scotland when determining funding to be paid by the UK Government to Scotland for council tax benefit.

Andy Burnham: Council tax benefit is a reserved matter, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions. England, Scotland and Wales operate a council tax system. Council tax benefit is paid as a rebate to households, up to a maximum of their council tax liability. No benefit is payable to households that do not pay council tax.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Liam Fox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), for what reasons he plans to transfer £70 million from voted capital DEL to non-voted near cash resource DEL; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans (Derek Twigg) on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 40W.

Economic Situation

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of when the last economic cycle concluded.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury's latest assessment of cyclical developments is set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review (Cm 7227).

International Monetary Fund: Gold

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic implications of the sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund.

Angela Eagle: Any IMF gold sales would require a 85 per cent. vote in favour by the members of the IMF. The UK Government believe that any sales of gold should take place in an orderly way, phased overtime, and within the bounds set by official sellers of gold in recent years so as to avoid disruption to the gold market.

Personal Income: Yorkshire and Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the median household income was in each parliamentary constituency in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply 
	as Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber.
	The information is not available below the level of Government Office Region.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much PricewaterhouseCoopers will be paid to carry out the Poynter Review.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 3 December 2007
	 HM Treasury has entered into a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), that is commercially confidential.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which budget the cost of the Poynter Review is being met; and what estimate he has made of the total expected cost of the review.

Jane Kennedy: HM Treasury has entered into a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), that is commercially confidential.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what security measures he has put in place to protect data exchanged via the HM Revenue and Customs website by contractors to file online returns under the construction industry scheme.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC has in place appropriate security measures to protect data exchanged via the HMRC website; these include measures to ensure authentication of access, encryption and a secure connection such as firewall technology to safeguard information received. Users of HMRC's e-services are required to confirm their identity using a unique user identification and password before they can access the Department's Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Service. Additionally the system used encrypts all data to ensure any exchange via the Department is transmitted securely.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what safeguards he has put in place to protect the data held by HM Revenue and Customs for the construction industry scheme.

Jane Kennedy: All data held by HMRC in respect of the construction industry scheme is subject to safeguards consistent with the Department's revised security guidelines.

Tax Allowances: Trade Unions

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance HM Revenue and Customs has produced on whether subscriptions to trades unions qualify for tax relief.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC provides guidance on the tax treatment of trades unions subscriptions paid by employees in its Employment Income Manual at EIM32885.

TRANSPORT

A303: Repairs and Maintenance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding is available from  (a) central and  (b) local government for road improvements to the A303 at Stonehenge in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Tom Harris: holding answer 9 January 2008
	There are currently no proposals for funding improvements to the A303 running past Stonehenge in 2007-08 or 2008-09. Following our announcement on Thursday, 6 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 97-8WS on the A303 Stonehenge Improvement scheme, the Highways Agency will be investigating possible smaller scale measures to improve traffic flows and safety along this section of the A303.
	The Department is also working with Department for Culture, Media and Sport and other stakeholders to investigate options for improving the environment around Stonehenge and improving visitor facilities. This work will include an assessment of the possibility of closing the junction of the A344 with the A303. Funding for possible small scale improvements to the A303 will be considered as part of this further work.

Crossrail Line

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Mayor of London and her Department on the Crossrail project;
	(2)  what liability  (a) taxpayers from general taxation and  (b) the London taxpayer, via the Greater London Authority, have for any cost-overruns from the Crossrail project;
	(3)  which public authorities will be responsible for bearing the cost of any overruns from the Crossrail project.

Tom Harris: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by the Secretary of State on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 133-34 WS and the answer given to the hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1294W.

Driving Under Influence: Alcoholic Drinks

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government is taking to increase public awareness of the volumes and timings of alcohol consumption likely to result in reaching the maximum blood alcohol concentration permitted for driving on public roads.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department are spending about £3.5 million this year advertising against drink-driving. We have an advice leaflet, 'How Much Will Your Next Round Cost You?', which is available on-line at:
	http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.Uk/campaigns/drinkdrive/pdf/1184.pdf
	Our advice has consistently warned drivers that it is not possible to calculate how much alcohol they can consume. We have included in our leaflet a warning about the persistence of alcohol impairment and the "morning after" effect.
	Alcohol impairment is a complex matter, It is influenced by various factors, including the driver's gender, body mass, his or her state of health and level of fatigue; the confounding effects of drugs—legal and illegal; by the level of driving skills—including the effects of inexperience and old age; and by the amount and rate of alcohol consumption. Any level of alcohol impairs driving and our core message is "don't drink and drive".

Motorways: Accidents

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) deaths and  (b) injuries resulting from accidents on motorways in Hampshire there were in each of the last two years, broken down on a junction-to-junction basis.

Tom Harris: The number of deaths and injuries resulting from accidents on the Highways Agency's motorways in Hampshire in each of the last two years is given, on a junction-to-junction basis, in the following table.
	
		
			 2005  2006 
			  Road  From  To  Killed  Injured  Killed  Injured 
			 M3 J4 J4A — 11 — 9 
			  J4A J5 — 29 — 36 
			  J5 J6 1 23 — 22 
			  J6 J7 — 19 1 32 
			  J7 J8 — 5 — 18 
			  J8 J9 1 40 — 28 
			  J9 J10 — 9 — 17 
			  J10 J11 — 22 1 17 
			  J11 J12 1 23 — 21 
			  J12 J13 — 17 — 11 
			  J13 J14 — 15 — 16 
			
			 M27 J1 J2 1 22 — 14 
			  J2 J3 — 11 — 15 
			  J3 J4W — 22 — 30 
			  J4E J5 — 14 — 11 
			  J4W J4E — 3 — 8 
			  J5 J7 — 20 — 29 
			  J7 J8 — 11 — 4 
			  J8 J9 — 21 — 17 
			  J9 J10 1 7 — 15 
			  J10 J11 — 3 — 8 
			  J11 J12W — 23 1 36 
			  J12E End — 4 — 3 
			  J12W J12E — 16 — 12 
			
			 M271 J1 End (A35) 1 19 — 5 
			  M27 J1 — 13 — 15 
			  Start (A3057) M27 — 1 — 3 
			
			 A3(M) Start J2 — 4 — 6 
			  J2 J3 — 15 — 13 
			  J3 J4 — 5 — 3 
			  J4 J5 — 7 — 19 
			  J5 End — 4 — 2

Railways: Norwich

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will hold an investigation into disruptions to the service on the Norwich to London railway line  (a) at Christmas 2007 and  (b) throughout 2007.

Tom Harris: The Office of Rail Regulation has launched an investigation into Network Rail's management of engineering projects including the causes of the engineering overrun at Liverpool Street over Christmas and new year, and expect to announce their preliminary findings by 29 February 2008. We will not seek to pre-empt the Office of Rail Regulation by speculating on causes before the report is issued.

Railways: Norwich

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of train delays on the Norwich to London railway line were due to problems with overhead cables in 2007.

Tom Harris: The Department does not receive the information at this level of detail. Information about specific causes of delay is collected and processed by Network Rail. The hon. Member should therefore contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question.
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she has taken to ascertain the reasons for the delay in the completion of works to the railway infrastructure near London Liverpool Street station over the Christmas and new year holiday period; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), as the rail industry's economic regulator, monitors Network Rail's stewardship of the national rail network. The ORR has launched an investigation into the cause of this over-run and expects to publish its findings by the end February. It would be inappropriate to make a statement before the report is published.

Railways: Safety Measures

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007, Official Report, column 600W, on railways: safety measures, if she will place in the Library the full research data from which the review referred to was compiled, with particular reference to the test data reviewed in section 9.4 of the report.

Tom Harris: holding answer 9 January 2008
	The research referred to in the question was commissioned by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). RSSB has no plans to publish any material relating to hammers. Having reached the conclusion that escape through windows of passenger trains should not be encouraged, RSSB concluded that the work on hammers should cease. There is therefore no final report or validated set of data relating to hammers. The final report on the overall approach to passenger containment, to which the hon. Gentleman refers in his question, is available on the RSSB website at:
	www.rssb.co.uk
	The Department for Transport does not have any of the data requested.

Railways: Swindon

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timescale is for a decision to be taken on the re-doubling of the Swindon-Kemble line.

Tom Harris: I understand Network Rail has consulted rail industry parties on possible changes to the Swindon to Kemble line. However, this is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his question.
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Roads: Safety

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what process a road safety grant, provided for by section 1 of the Road Safety Act 2006, is awarded to a local authority or any other body.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Section 1 of the Road Safety Act provides powers for Government to make payments to local authorities or any other authority or body for meeting the costs of measures for promoting road safety.
	There is no single mechanism for award of grant under this legislation, but in the case of Road Safety Partnership Grant, bids for grant are invited to address specific road safety issues and priorities, and are then assessed against project criteria. Grant is awarded to those bidders who best satisfy the project criteria and road safety priorities.
	It is envisaged that the powers under this legislation will also be used to award grants associated with road safety trials or demonstration projects. In such cases, grant will be awarded to authorities or bodies on the basis of their particular experience of a road safety issue, or its solution.

Trains: Standards

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will request Passenger Focus to conduct a study into passenger comfort on Desiro Class 450 trains; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State will not request Passenger Focus to conduct a study as the independent study which was commissioned and funded by South West Trains was reviewed by Passenger Focus. The findings of this report are available on the South West Trains Website:
	www.southwesttrains.co.uk

West London Line: Railway Stations

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the total cost of the proposed West London Line train station at Imperial Wharf.

Tom Harris: The provision of a new station at Imperial Wharf was agreed between the local authority and the developer as part of the wider development of the area. The costs of the station are therefore not a matter for the Department for Transport but for the local authority.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Communications Allowance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1225W, on the communications allowance, why the allowance is being increased by the retail prices index rather than the consumer prices index.

Helen Goodman: The communications allowance is uprated annually from 1 April in line with the RPI for the preceding December. This is in accordance with the MEC report on the allowance (HC 319, 2006-07) which was approved by the House on 28 March 2007. This is the same as the uprating procedures for IEP and ACA.

Communications Allowance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1225W, on the communications allowance, what representations she has received supporting an increase in the communications allowance by more than the rate of inflation; and what assessment she has made of such representations.

Helen Goodman: I have received no such representations. The communications allowance is uprated each year in line with the retail prices index. This follows the recommendations of the report of the Members Estimate Committee (HC 182, 2006-07) which was approved by the House on 28 March 2007.

Communications Allowance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1225W, on the communications allowance, what the aggregated budgeted expenditure on the communications allowance is expected to be in 2007-08.

Helen Goodman: The communications allowances was introduced in April 2007 and set at £10,000 per annum for each hon. Member, with the possibility of adding money transferred from staffing and IEP—incidental expenses provision. The maximum spend from the basic allowance in one year is therefore £6.46 million. The Members Estimate Committee, in its report on the communications allowance (HC 319, 2006-07) assumed similar take-up to the other allowances. As noted in the report, this equates to a likely total annual cost of the allowance of about £6 million. Currently spending on the communications allowance is running below this level.

Departmental Data Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Leader of the House what audits her Office has carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Goodman: Following a machinery of government change the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons falls under the auspices of the Cabinet Office on this issue.
	My hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) will be answering in due course and will also answer on behalf of the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons.

DEFENCE

Annual Army Abstracts

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the Annual Army Abstracts published since 1997.

Derek Twigg: No. The Annual Army Abstract report is restricted management as it may disclose sensitive personal information and redacting historical information could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the rest and recuperation arrangements for armed forces personnel during their deployment on operational tours.

Bob Ainsworth: A number of studies on the future size and disposition of United Kingdom armed forces on operations are currently ongoing. This work will include an assessment of the adequacy of welfare provision in the long term and any changes will be announced in due course. In the meantime, the current arrangements for rest and recuperation will continue to apply as per our previous correspondence.

Armed Forces: Divorce

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the provision of support to the former spouses of service personnel following marriage breakdown.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1024W, and 17 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1029-30W, which described much of the support available to all members of service families experiencing relationship difficulties.
	A former spouse of a service person who no longer lives in the service community will receive support from local authorities or devolved administrations who have statutory responsibilities for appropriate services. Also, service charities will often become, or remain, involved in supporting needy cases, including the former spouses of service personnel. For example, SSAFA-Forces Help operates Stepping Stone Homes as transitional assistance specifically for the separated or divorced former dependants of service personnel.

Armed Forces: Housing

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will break down by married accommodation location the married service personnel based at  (a) Woolwich,  (b) Wellington Barracks,  (c) Hounslow and  (d) Windsor.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held in the format requested.
	Staff working in London are entitled to be housed within 90 minutes travel time (using public transport) of their permanent duty station. Therefore there is no direct linkage between the married accommodation at each of the sites and the basing of service personnel at those sites. However, the numbers of service family accommodation at each of the requested locations is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Woolwich 260 
			 Wellington Barracks 33 
			 Hounslow 117 
			 Windsor 454 
		
	
	Personnel living at these locations may work at other London locations, and conversely personnel who are posted there may be housed elsewhere.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons were for the decision to change the abbreviated description for UK armed forces for badging and identification purposes while deployed from UK to GBR.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 17 December 2007
	In 2004, NATO's Standardisation Agreement 1059 (STANAG 1059), which provides agreed Letter Codes for Geographical Entities, was amended to replace the previous two letter country code with three letter codes based on those used by the International Organisation for Standards (the ISO 3166-1 standard). As a result, the standard NATO letter code for the United Kingdom changed from UK to GBR.

Army: Statistics

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the monthly Defence Analytical Services Agency British Army Statistics Report issued since April 1997.

Derek Twigg: No. The Defence Analytical Services Agency British Army Statistics report is restricted management as it may disclose sensitive personal information and redacting the historical information could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Labour Turnover

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) total outflow and  (b) voluntary exit rate was of (i) officers, (ii) other ranks and (iii) all personnel in the Army in each month since January 2006.

Derek Twigg: Army figures for total outflow and voluntary exit rates broken down by officers and other ranks since January 2006 can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 5 — 'Trained Outflow to Civil Life'. Monthly figures show the number of personnel who have outflowed in the previous 12 month period. TSP 5 is published monthly and all publications can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/tsp5tab5.html
	Copies of TSP 5 are available in the Library of the House and at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Athena: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding the United Kingdom provided to the Athena provisional financing scheme in each year since 2004.

Des Browne: The UK does not participate in the Athena provisional financing scheme.

Athena: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the EU's Athena budget was in each year since 2004; and what percentage of that budget was provided by the United Kingdom.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   Athena budget (£ million)  UK share (percentage) 
			 2004 8.615 17.28 
			 2005 41.474 18.07 
			 2006 30.199 17.57 
			 2007 19.457 17.02 
			 2008 21.861 17.23 
		
	
	The budget agreed for 2008 does not yet include the costs of a planned EU-led military operation in Chad and the Central African Republic. The 2008 Athena budget will be increased as necessary once a budget for that operation has been approved.

Defence Analytical Services Agency: Forecasts

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) the Defence Analytical Services Agency's (DASA) monthly price index booklet,  (b) DASA's quarterly price index forecasts,  (c) DASA's quarterly foreign price index,  (d) DASA's negotiators' briefing pack issued in 2007 and  (e) the DASA electronic price indices query tool.

Derek Twigg: I will arrange for copies of the Monthly Price Indices booklet, Quarterly Foreign Price Indices booklet and the Negotiators Briefing Pack(s) published in 2007 to be placed in the Library of the House.
	I am withholding copies of the DASA Price Indices UK Quarterly Forecast as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests.
	Similarly, I am withholding the electronic price indices query tool as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests.

Defence Aviation Repair Agency: Vector Aerospace

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the basis was for the decision to sell the DARA Helicopter, Rotary Wing and Components business in Almondbank on to the Canadian company Vector Aerospace.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous answer on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 773W, to the hon. Member for Gosport (Peter Viggers).

European Defence Agency: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected budget is for the European Defence Agency in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Bob Ainsworth: The European Defence Agency budget for 2008 is €32 million; there are no budget figures for 2009 and 2010.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many medical personnel were hired by his Department under private contract to work in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq in each of the last three years; and what the cost of hiring such staff was;
	(2)  which private companies his Department uses to hire medical personnel for service in Iraq and Afghanistan;
	(3)  if he will break down by specialisation those medical personnel hired by his Department under private contract to work in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Medical Services Department employs civilian medical locums to work at UK medical facilities on deployed operations through Frontier Medical (a division of Exploration Logistics Group plc).
	The following table provides the total number of individuals who have been employed over the past three complete financial years and up to 15 December of this financial year. Not all of these individuals deployed at the same time. For example, during the financial year 2006-07, at any one time, up to two intensive therapy unit nurses and two emergency nurses were deployed as civilian locums in Iraq by the Defence Medical Services.
	
		
			  Financial year  Specialism  Operation  Number of individuals employed as civilian locums  Cost (£ million) 
			 April 2004 to April 2005 Intensive Therapy Unit and Emergency Nurses Telic (Iraq) 50 1 
			  
			 April 2005 to April 2006 Intensive Therapy Unit and Emergency Nurses Telic (Iraq) 50 1.1 
			  
			 April 2006 to April 2007 Intensive Therapy Unit and Emergency Nurses Telic (Iraq) 54 1.155 
			  
			 April 2007 to 15 December 2007 Intensive Therapy Unit and Emergency Nurses Telic (Iraq) 26 0.87 
			  Neurosurgeon, Intensive Therapy Unit and Emergency Nurses Herrick (Afghanistan) 4 0.21

Kenya: Peacekeeping Operations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel are based in Kenya; and what their roles are.

Bob Ainsworth: 65 UK military personnel are based in Kenya, undertaking a wide variety of roles. These include: providing advice and assistance to the British high commissioner; helping build Kenyan and regional capacity to manage and conduct peace support operations; providing high quality mine action training; and liaising with Kenyan authorities over the planning and execution of British Army exercises.

RAF: Labour Turnover

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) total outflow and  (b) voluntary exit rate was of (i) officers, (ii) other ranks and (iii) all personnel in the RAF in each month since January 2006.

Derek Twigg: RAF figures for total outflow and voluntary exit rates broken down by officers and other ranks since January 2006 can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 5 — 'Trained Outflow to Civil Life'. Monthly figures show the number of personnel who have outflowed in the previous 12 month period. TSP 5 is published monthly and all publications can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/tsp5tab5.html
	Copies of TSP 5 are available in the Library of the House and at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Royal Navy: Labour Turnover

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) total outflow and  (b) voluntary exit rate was of (i) officers, (ii) other ranks and (iii) all personnel in the Royal Navy in each month since January 2006.

Derek Twigg: Royal Navy figures for total outflow and voluntary exit rates broken down by officers and other ranks since January 2006 can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 5 — 'Trained Outflow to Civil Life'. Monthly figures show the number of personnel who have outflowed in the previous 12 month period. TSP 5 is published monthly and all publications can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/tsp5tab5.html
	Copies of TSP 5 are available in the Library of the House and at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Sierra Leone and the Balkans: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 11 June 2007, on Sierra Leone: peacekeeping operations, what progress has been made on reconciling casualty data for operations in  (a) Sierra Leone and  (b) the Balkans since May 2007.

Derek Twigg: Work on reconciling casualty data for operations in Sierra Leone and the Balkans is continuing. I will write to the hon. Member when the work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Liam Fox:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 19 November 2007 (Official Report, Column 486W) about the progress made on reconciling casualty data for operations in Sierra Leone and the Balkans since May 1997. I trust you will also accept this letter as a reply to your letter of 13 December on the same subject.
	I can now confirm the current position in respect of both the Sierra Leone and Balkans casualties is as follows:
	 Fatalities
	As at 10 June 2006, a total of 72 British Forces personnel had died while serving in the Balkans since the start of operations in 1992. This information can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/BalkansBritishFatalities.
	During the operations in Sierra Leone between 2000 and 2002, five UK Armed Forces personnel died whilst deployed: one was killed in action, three died in operational accidents and one died of natural causes. This information is not available via the public websites.
	 Non-fatal casualties
	I can also confirm that the notifiable casualty (NOTICAS) data on Very Seriously Injured (VSI) and Seriously Injured (SI) for Operations in the Balkans and Sierra Leone since January 2001 have now been verified and validated.
	Between January 2001 and April 2007, there were four VSI and 13 SI casualties in the Balkans. This data is published on the MOD Website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/DoctrineOperationsandDiplomacyPublications/OperationsinTheBalkans/TheBalkanCasualtyTable.htm
	Between 1 January 2001 and 30 July 2002, there were no VSI or SI casualties on operation in Sierra Leone.
	Non-fatal casualty data prior to 2001 have not been examined and could only be captured centrally and verified at disproportionate cost.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Warships

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships are in each readiness category, broken down by ship type.

Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding the information requested as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the Armed Forces. My predecessor wrote to my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) on 6 March 2007 explaining in detail the Department's policy on releasing such information. A copy of his letter is available in the Library of the House.

Weapons: Testing

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records his Department holds on  (a) the testing of weapons in space by other Governments over the last 10 years,  (b) the volume of debris in low earth orbit which relates to such testing and  (c) the potential effects of such debris; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We have no evidence suggesting that any state has conducted tests of space-based weapons in the past 10 years. China conducted a successful anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test against its own space asset on 11 January 2007, but the missile itself was ground launched and hence, not stationed in space. The UK has expressed its concern to China about the potential impact of the additional debris this ASAT test created.
	The British National Space Centre (BNSC) conducts regular assessments of the volume of space debris in orbit and the potential threat this poses to UK assets.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to the Health and Safety Executive on annual testing of carbon monoxide alarms.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 7 January 2008
	 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates domestic gas safety and provides Ministers with information in this area. In its public advice to domestic gas consumers, HSE recommends that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted and used according to manufacturers' instructions.

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: ICT

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the existing IT contract between his Department and EDS—Electronic Data Systems—will be transferred to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC); and whether it is open to CMEC to seek to renegotiate this contract.

James Plaskitt: The contract between the Department and EDS contains clauses that cover the possibility of future changes in our organisation. These clauses will be used to ensure that the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission will be able to continue to make use of EDS services in the same way that the Child Support Agency does now.
	It will be for the Commission to determine its future arrangements for the provision of IT services. Should the Commission wish to renegotiate the EDS contract, however, it would have to do so in conjunction with the Department as the contract is at a departmental level.

Child Maintenance: Arrears

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the  (a) amount and  (b) proportion of child maintenance arrears that are uncollectable; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 10 January 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount and proportion of child maintenance arrears that is uncollectable; and if he will make a statement.
	The latest estimate of the amount and proportion of child maintenance arrears that is uncollectable is set out in notes 5 and 6 to the Client Funds Accounts as published in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07. This was laid before Parliament on 3 December 2007 and copies were placed in the House of Commons Library. A copy can also be found on the internet via the following link: http://csa.gov.uk/en/PDF/reports/arep0607.pdf
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the policy of the Child Support Agency is on British fathers paying child maintenance to non-British mothers resident in the UK.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 10 January 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the policy of the Child Support Agency is on British fathers paying child maintenance to non-British mothers resident in the UK.
	The Agency will make a maintenance calculation provided the parent with care, non-resident parent and the qualifying child are all habitually resident in the United Kingdom. The nationality of the parents does not affect this policy.
	A person is habitually resident if he/she is ordinarily resident and has been for an appreciable period. While each case is different, the Agency has to take account of the person's circumstances and intentions as follows:
	the person's normal centre of interest or connections to a particular place;
	the length, continuity and purpose of residence in the United Kingdom;
	the length and purpose of any absence from the United Kingdom; and
	the nature of the person's work.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 328-29W, on children: maintenance, how many individuals received a consolatory payment from the Child Support Agency in each year since 1997; what the average value of payment was in each year; and how much was paid in total in consolatory payments in each year.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 10 January 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 27(th) November 2007, Official Report columns 328-9W on children: maintenance how many individuals have received a consolatory payment from the Child Support Agency in each year since 1997; what the average value of payment was in each year; and how much was paid in total in consolatory payments in each year.
	Information on the number of individuals who receive consolatory payments is not available. However, the total number of consolatory awards, the average value of each payment the total amount paid is provided in the table below. Information prior to December 2001 is not available.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total number of consolatory awards made 8,335 8,435 5,891 9,001 9,208 9,194 
			 Consolatory payments (£ million) 0.696 0.661 0.406 0.582 0.608 0.666 
			 Average (£) 83.50 78.36 68.92 64.69 66.03 72.44 
		
	
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Christmas

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether it is his Department's policy to use  (a) incandescent light bulbs and  (b) LED lights for festive decorations on departmental premises;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on the selection of  (a) real and  (b) artificial Christmas trees for his Department's festive decorations; and how real trees are disposed of.

Anne McGuire: It is not the policy of this Department to provide Christmas trees, incandescent light bulbs or LED lights for festive decorations on departmental premises.
	The vast majority of the Department's estate has been sold (freehold, feuhold and long leasehold interests) or transferred (short leasehold interests) to Land Securities Trillium via a PFI—private finance initiative—contract known as PRIME. DWP pays a unitary charge in return for fully serviced accommodation.

Community Care Grants: Elderly

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of community care grants were awarded to pensioners in the most recent period for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: In October 2007 in Great Britain the percentage of community care grant initial awards made to pensioners was 10.6 per cent.
	 Note: Initial awards do not include awards made after review.
	 Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

Departmental Aviation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department on international flights in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: DWP was formed in 2001 and therefore has details of spend on international flights only from February 2002. The information is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			   Total 
			 February 2002 to January 2003 600,572 
			 February 2003 to January 2004 639,783 
			 February 2004 to January 2005 703,189 
			 February 2005 to January 2006 878,605 
			 February 2006 to January 2007 652,620 
			 February 2007 to October 2007 454,849

Departmental Buildings

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department is making in its programme to rationalise its head office outside central London and maximise the flexible use of space in line with the Working Without Walls report.

Anne McGuire: The Head Office Estate programme originally included 27 buildings (outside those buildings in central London) and plans to retain 11 buildings, with the remainder being vacated and disposed of by 2009. DWP has so far completed the vacation and disposal of nine of the smaller offices outside London, with staff being re-housed in those larger DWP buildings designated for retention.
	DWP is taking the opportunity with each programme change to introduce flexible working, where it does not already operate. DWP is also finalising preparations for its first 'Pathfinder' in flexible working which is planned to commence in Leeds in February 2008. The start date is linked to the rollout dates for the DWP Telephony programme which will deliver improved phone systems that provide staff with the ability to use their designated extension number from wherever they are sitting.

Departmental Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Data Protection

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the recently published letter from his Department to council revenue and benefit offices suspending data exchanges on security grounds; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 4 December 2007
	A copy of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Bulletin number U3/2007 which was issued on 21 November has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Location

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department's staff will be moving to the Peel Park site in the next six months; how many are working there; and how many will be located there by 1st April 2008.

Anne McGuire: There are currently 160 DWP staff at Peel Park.
	Under current plans and assumptions, there will be 759 moving in between now and 31 March 2008. This would therefore bring the total to 919 DWP staff by 1 April 2008.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if he will break down his Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

James Plaskitt: Near-cash and non-cash are essentially used as departmental expenditure limit (DEL) budgetary control concepts and are not specifically identified with voted resources in estimates. However, we have been able to break down net total resources for each section in the Part II: Subhead detail table of our main [and winter supplementary] estimates in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			Main estimate 2007-08  Winter supplementary estimate 2007-08 
			  Subhead Line  Near-cash  Non-cash  Total  Near-cash  Non-cash  Total 
			  RfR1  DEL   
			 A Administration 402,019 4,732 406,751 404,041 4,732 408,773 
			  Total for RfR1 402,019 4,732 406,751 404,041 4,732 408,773 
			 
			  RfR2  DEL   
			 A Administration 2,595,662 121,937 2,717,599 2,600,177 121,937 2,722,114 
			 B Employment Programmes 771,555 622 772,177 771,761 622 772,383 
			 C Health and Safety Executive 219,382 8,000 227,382 219,382 8,000 227,382 
			 D Health and Safety Laboratory (2,274) 2,274 0 (2,274) 2,274 0 
			 E Capital Grants 5,927 2,549 8,476 5,927 2,549 8,476 
			 F The Rent Service Executive agency 30,600 4,902 35,502 30,600 4,902 35,502 
			 G European Social Fund and European Globalisation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 H European Social Fund payments in advance of receipts 0 32,700 32,700 0 32,700 32,700 
			 I Employment programmes 37,047 0 37,047 37,047 0 37,047 
			 J Housing benefit and council tax benefit administration grants 680,200 0 680,200 680,200 0 680,200 
			 K Capital grants to local authorities 2,895 0 2,895 2,895 0 2,895 
			 L European Social Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 M European Social Fund payments in advance of receipts 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			   AME   
			 N Severe disablement allowance 886,053 614 886,667 895,959 614 896,573 
			 0 Industrial injury benefits 792,527 582 793,109 806,563 582 807,145 
			 P Income support (under 60 years of age) 8,675,813 102,490 8,778,303 8,682,510 102,490 8,785,000 
			 Q Jobseekers allowance (income based) 2,041,366 9,929 2,051,295 2,041,366 9,929 2,051,295 
			 R Jobseekers allowance (contribution based) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 S Job grant 45,064 0 45,064 47,936 0 47,936 
			 T Employment allowances 84,297 0 84,297 84,297 0 84,297 
			 U Housing and council tax benefit capital charge 0 3,277 3,277 0 3,277 3,277 
			 V Housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidies 13,916,309 0 13,916,309 14,143,852 0 14,143,852 
			 W Rent rebates 5,234,667 0 5,234,667 5,259,560 0 5,259,560 
			 X Discretionary housing payments 20,000 0 20,000 20,000 0 20,000 
			 
			   Non-budget   
			 Y Statutory benefits (SSP and SMP) 1,712,065 0 1,712,065 1,712,065 0 1,712,065 
			 Z Working Age (Grant in Aid) 3,687 0 3,687 3,687 0 3,687 
			  Total for RfR2 37,752,842 289,876 38,042,718 38,043,510 289,876 38,333,386 
			 
			 RfR3 DEL   
			 A Administration 184,464 14,202 198,666 192,065 14,202 206,267 
			 
			   AME   
			 B Pension benefits 60,486 13 60,499 66,023 13 66,036 
			 C Income support for the elderly and pension credit 7,303,663 23,391 7,327,054 7,303,663 23,391 7,327,054 
			 D TV licences for the over 75s 503,078 0 503,078 503,078 0 503,078 
			 
			   Non-budget   
			 E Payments to the Social Fund 2,475,283 0 2,475,283 2,496,283 0 2,496,283 
			 F Pensions Grants in Aid 35,785 0 35,785 35,785 0 35,785 
			  Total for RfR3 10,562,759 37,606 10,600,365 10,596,897 37,606 10,634,503 
			 
			  RfR4  DEL   
			 A Administration 246,855 1,488 248,343 245,333 1,488 246,821 
			 B Motability administration 2,800 0 2,800 2,800 0 2,800 
			 
			   AME   
			 C Attendance allowance 4,376,854 14,627 4,391,481 4,428,373 14,627 4,443,000 
			 D Disability living allowance 9,736,572 11,582 9,748,154 9,947,418 11,582 9,959,000 
			 E Carer's allowance 1,268,937 2,850 1,271,787 1,268,937 2,850 1,271,787 
			 F Vaccine damage payments 500 0 500 500 0 500 
			 G Grants to independent bodies 300,468 0 300,468 300,468 0 300,468 
			 
			   Non- b udget   
			 H Disability Rights Commission (Grant in Aid) 20,000 0 20,000 20,000 0 20,000 
			  Total for RfR4 15,952,986 30,547 15,983,533 16,213,829 30,547 16,244,376 
			 
			  RfR5  DEL   
			 A Administration 1,021,416 17,964 1,039,380 1,060,846 17,964 1,078,810 
			  Total for RfR5 1,021,416 17,964 1,039,380 1,060,846 17,964 1,078,810 
			 
			  Total subhead as per estimates 65,692,022 380,725 66,072,747 66,319,123 380,725 66,699,848

Departmental Recycling

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on recycling.

James Plaskitt: Targets for sustainable operations on the Government estate require DWP to improve its environmental performance across a range of activities. During 2006-07 the Department recycled 67 per cent. of its waste, exceeding the specific target to recycle 40 per cent. of waste by 2010 and placing us in a strong position to meet the 2020 target to recycle 75 per cent. of our waste.
	The Department's sustainable development policy statement commits the Department to maximise recycling wherever possible. Working with our estates partners, Land Securities Trillium, we have concentrated on our major waste streams and have rolled out 'total paper recycling' across the whole estate. We are now exploring how this scheme can be further enhanced and extended to improve performance further.

Departmental Recycling

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of its waste his Department recycled in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: DWP waste figures, as reported in Sustainable Development in Government reports up until 2005-06, are provided in the following table. The figures shown for 2006-07 will be reported by the Sustainable Development Commission early in 2008.
	
		
			   Total waste (tonne)  Waste recycled (tonne)  Waste recycled (percentage) 
			 2002-03(1) 17,480 10,413 60 
			 2003-04(2) 22,057 11,758 53 
			 2004-05 30,116 15,348 51 
			 2005-06 28,089 14,782 53 
			 2006-07 22,365 14,881 67 
			 (1) Figures for 2002-03 include information on waste generated from buildings on the former DSS estate only. Information on waste generated from buildings on the former Employment Service estate are not available. (2) Figures for 2003-04 include information for the whole year on waste generated from buildings on the former DSS estate, and for one quarter only for waste generated from buildings on the former Employment Service Estate.

Departmental Sustainable Development

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what sustainability appraisal his Department has conducted of its recent relocation announcements; and what the outcome of the appraisal was.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 10 December 2007
	The Department for Work and Pensions Head Office Estate (HOE) Programme undertook a diversity and equality assessment in each of the geographical areas in which closures were proposed which also addressed sustainability issues. The assessment showed that rationalisation would provide:
	 Impacts on the Environment
	More conference and meeting facilities (including video conferencing) reducing the need to travel;
	The city centre sites generally have good public transport links;
	Good workspace practice enables the estate to better support the Department's core business while reducing resource usage and cost; and
	The buildings that are being closed are generally of a lower standard of accommodation than the buildings being retained once refurbished e.g. Peel Park, one of the retained sites in the North West has been accredited with ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
	 Impacts on Society
	Improved working conditions for Departmental staff;
	Greater access to quiet rooms and open plan workspace thereby breaking down barriers, increasing staff morale and improving communication; and
	Many of the retained sites have gym facilities, nursery and holiday play schemes operating and additional facilities such as Prayer Rooms, contemplation and nursing mother rooms.
	In addition, the HOE Programme must also satisfy the DWP requirement to help to deliver the objectives of the 3rd UK Strategy for Sustainable Development and the programme team work proactively with others to ensure appropriate compliance is achieved including expert review of design proposals where appropriate.

Employment Schemes: Lone Parents

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Department's publication Ready for Work, what forecast he has made of  (a) the likely number of work focused interviews which will be attended by lone parents in each quarter until 2011, broken down by (i) region, (ii) ethnicity and (iii) family size,  (b) the annual cost of providing such work focused interviews,  (c) the number of additional staff needed to provide such work focused interviews and  (d) the cost of such additional staff in each quarter until 2011.

Caroline Flint: The full information requested is not available. The Impact Assessment published alongside the publication "Ready for Work: full employment in our generation" presented our current estimates of the impact of the proposals on the number of lone parents on benefits and costs. Work is ongoing on detailed implementation plans.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long a person under 25 years old must  (a) have not been in education, employment or training and  (b) have been claiming jobseeker's allowance to qualify for accelerated entry to the new Gateway.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 7 January 2008
	 The proposals are to fast track those aged 20 and over to the new Gateway if they have spent a large proportion of the previous two years in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. Those aged under 20 who have not had time to build up two years of benefit history will be fast tracked to the new Gateway on the basis of how much time they have previously spent not in education, employment or training or in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. Precise qualifying criteria for both age groups have yet to be determined. These arrangements will be mandatory.
	Subject to capacity, Jobcentre Plus will also give voluntary early access to the new Gateway to other disadvantaged groups.

Financial Assistance Scheme: Standards

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the administration of the financial assistance scheme in making timely payments to those who qualify for assistance under the scheme.

Mike O'Brien: A review was carried out during this year by Mercers Human Resource Consulting which reported back in August that the process of gathering data to operate the financial assistance scheme (FAS) is fit for purpose and is managed in a satisfactory manner.
	They also concluded that delays in obtaining high enough quality data are sometimes due to problems for trustee's administrators and insurance firms being able to supply information.
	As of 18 December 2007 3,665 people were receiving assistance payments from the financial assistance scheme and £11,786,114 has been paid out. This compares to the same time last year when 675 members were receiving assistance totalling £2,003,227.

Housing Benefit

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to improve the administration of housing benefit by local authorities.

James Plaskitt: Since 2002-03, housing benefit and council tax benefit (HB and CTB) administration has improved significantly. In 2002-03, the national average for the time taken to deal with new claims to HB and CTB was 55 days, with the worst 15 per cent. taking an average of 99 days. These worst 15 per cent. performing authorities have made the greatest improvements in 2006-07 by processing claims in 54 days. In 2006-07, the national average had improved to 33 days.
	Complaints to the local government ombudsman regarding HB and CTB administration have also fallen by 72 per cent. between 2000-01 and 2006-07 from 4,028 to 1,121 complaints. In 2006-07, HB and CTB administration accounted for only 6 per cent. of complaints, compared to 21 per cent. in 2001-02.
	We will continue to monitor local authorities' performance, engaging where appropriate with the poor performers and will continue to provide consultancy support and good practice on all aspects of HB and CTB administration.
	We are continually taking steps to simplify the system to make it easier for local authorities to administer the scheme, for example, the roll-out of the local housing allowance from April 2008 is a more straightforward and transparent way of calculating entitlement to housing benefit in the private sector. We have also developed a new IT link which passes information about DWP benefits straight to the computers of housing benefit/council tax benefit staff. These initiatives will help in the administration of the scheme.

Incapacity Benefit: East of England

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk claiming incapacity benefits had drug or drink dependency as their primary medical conditions in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants in east of England and Suffolk, who have alcoholism or drug abuse as their main disabling condition 
			   East of England  Suffolk 
			  Quarter ending  Alcoholism  Drug abuse  Alcoholism  Drug abuse 
			 May 2003 1,890 2,270 180 200 
			 May 2004 2,020 2,400 170 190 
			 May 2005 2,110 2,520 190 200 
			 May 2006 2,230 2,590 200 210 
			 May 2007 2,400 2,640 240 220 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10(th) Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. 4. All IB/SDA claimants in east of England and Suffolk who have alcoholism or drug abuse as their main disabling condition are working age.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Industrial Health and Safety

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) incidents and  (b) complaints were (i) reported to and (ii) investigated by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last four years.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The numbers of Incidents reported to HSE (i.e. those reportable under RIDDOR—reporting of injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences regulations), and the number of these incidents which meet the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) investigation selection criteria and which are investigated, in each of the last four years are as follows:
	
		
			   Al HSE Reportable RIDDOR Incidents  Numbers investigated meeting HSC's selection criteria 
			 2003-04 148,592 5,288 
			 2004-05 141,740 4,890 
			 2005-06 138,848 4,677 
			 2006-07 134,418 5,567 
		
	
	 (b) The numbers of complaints reported to HSE, and investigated, in each of the last four years are as follows:
	
		
			   Total number of complaints reported  Total number investigated( 1) 
			 2003-04 24,404 22,528 
			 2004-05 22,794 21,633 
			 2005-06 21,074 19,675 
			 2006-07 18,865 18,540 
			 A majority of complaints are investigated by Complaints Officers and not HSE Inspectors. Dependent on the seriousness of the nature of the complaint it may be referred to an inspector to investigate.

Industrial Health and Safety: Criminal Proceedings

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) enforcement notices have been served and  (b) prosecutions have been initiated by health and safety inspectors under health and safety at work legislation in each year since 2002-03.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The total number of enforcement Notices issued by the HSE—the Health and Safety Executive—since 2002-03 are:
	
		
			   Total number of Notices issued 
			 2002-03 13,324 
			 2003-04 11,335 
			 2004-05 8,471 
			 2005-06 6,593 
			 2006-07 8,071 
			 2007-08(1) 3,885 
			 (1) Half year figures. 
		
	
	Figures up to and including 2006-07 are based on published HSE annual statistics, the 2006-07 is the provisional figure.
	The 2007-08 figure is the numbers issued in the first half of this year, and this is also a provisional figure.
	 (b) The total number of prosecutions initiated (i.e. specific charges laid) by HSE since 2002-03 are:
	
		
			   Total number of prosecutions initiated 
			 2002-03 1,659 
			 2003-04 1,720 
			 2004-05 1,320 
			 2005-06 1,056 
			 2006-07 1,141 
			 2007-08(1) 561 
			 (1) Half year figures. 
		
	
	Figures up to and including 2006-07 are based on published HSE annual statistics, the 2006-07 is the provisional figure.
	The 2007-08 figure is the number of specific charges laid before the courts in the first half of this year, and this is also a provisional figure.

Jobcentre Plus: Interpreters

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what interpreter services are available to support Jobcentre Plus  (a) interviews and  (b) telephone calls;
	(2)  which Jobcentre Plus materials are available in languages other than English, broken down by language.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to reply to the hon. member.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 10 January 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your questions about what interpreter services are available to support Jobcentre Plus (a) interviews and (b) telephone calls, and which Jobcentre Plus materials are available in languages other than English broken down by language. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus recognises that additional support may be required to enable people who do not have English as a first language to gain access to our services, (a) when contacting us by telephone, or (b) attending an interview.
	We provide this additional support through the:
	(a) DWP Telephone Interpreting Service, currently contracted to "thebigword". This service allows immediate access to interpreters for callers to our Contact Centre networks, for example when making new claims to benefits or applying for National Insurance Numbers.
	(b) Face to Face Interpreting, including access to interpreters available through our partnership working with the Voluntary Sector, and local community and customer representative groups. We may also use staff with relevant language skills, or customer's friends and relatives, where the customer has indicated that this is their preferred method of language support.
	Jobcentre Plus currently produces its suite of customer information leaflets (providing details of benefits and entitlements, and our mandatory Welfare to Work programmes) in English, Welsh and in the following ethnic languages:
	Arabic
	Bengali
	Chinese (Some titles only available on request, due to file size)
	Gujurati
	Punjabi
	Urdu (Some titles only available on request, due to file size)
	This information is also available as online electronic-only files that can be downloaded or printed as required.
	Information in Somali and Vietnamese is also available in audio format on request.
	The languages offered are based on analysis of UK demographic data.
	I hope this is helpful.

Marginal Tax Rates

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the marginal deduction rate experienced by a lone parent, local authority tenant, with two children under 11, with child care costs, working 36 hours per week at adult rate minimum wage.

Caroline Flint: The Department considers the issue of marginal deduction rates (MDRs) within the wider context of making work pay. It is not possible to calculate the MDR in this particular example because it would require assumptions to be made about rent levels and child care costs as well as issues such as disability. More generally, the number of families facing MDRs in excess of 70 per cent. has fallen by 545,000 since before Budget 1998.
	The Government provide a broad range of support for lone parents that focuses on ensuring that work pays, that barriers to employment are addressed and that lone parents are made aware of the employment opportunities available to them.
	The in-work credit (IWC) is currently being piloted in 22 Job Centre Plus districts and will be rolled out nationally from April 2008. The IWC further increases the financial benefit from a move into employment and is helping lone parents move away from benefit dependency. This, combined with tax credits and the national minimum wage, means that most lone parents are likely to be significantly better off in work.

National Identity Register

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to make use of data on the National Identity Register when it is established; and what the estimated cost to his Department of that use is.

Anne McGuire: DWP will be working with the Home Office prior to the introduction of the national identity scheme to establish how data held on the proposed National Identity Register might be used to provide easier access to DWP benefits and services for our customers. It is too early in the process to identify estimated costs and benefits.

National Insurance Fund

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of employers paying employee pensions contributions at the reduced rate on national insurance fund revenue in the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Cost of contracted-out rebat e 
			  £ billion 
			   Tax year 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Type of scheme  Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee 
			 Occupational DB 4.6 2.1 4.8 2.2 5.0 2.3 
			 Occupational DC 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 
			  Note: 1. Rebate expenditure for all years is estimated and based on the latest available contracting-out data in 'Second Tier Pension Provision'. 2. Figures are for the UK and expressed in cash terms. 3. The cost of paying the rebate will be balanced in the longer term by a reduction in the cost of the additional state pension.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions

Occupational Pensions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many occupational pension schemes have fully wound up since 1997; how many are in the process of winding up; and what the total membership of such schemes was in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 764W.

Occupational Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what plans he has to change the proportion of pension payments made to occupational pension scheme members who make claims to the financial assistance scheme; and what the timescale is for such changes;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the findings in the Young report on changes to the proportion of pensions payable in cases involving the financial assessment scheme.

Mike O'Brien: The Findings of the Young Review, released on Monday 17 December 2007, has indicated we are able to increase our commitment to the financial assistance scheme for pension scheme members who have lost their pension since April 1997 to April 2005 from 80 per cent. to 90 per cent. of their expected pension, in addition I have also announced that we will now pay all members from their normal scheme retirement age subject to a lower age limit of 60.
	We are keen to ensure that members do not wait any longer than is absolutely necessary for increased payments. We are considering the changes that will require legislation in order to bring the new FAS benefits into effect.
	We will bring forward some legislative changes as part of the Pensions Bill currently before Parliament
	The full scheme will only be in place when the regulations made under any new powers are in force; we intend to make sure this happens as soon as possible.

Pensioners: Macclesfield

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners in Macclesfield constituency claimed pension credit at the latest date for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: Population estimates from the Office for National Statistics are not available on a constituency basis, so the question has been answered for Macclesfield local authority.
	As at May 2007 5,290 households in Macclesfield were receiving pension credit which represents 14 per cent. of the pensioner population.
	There were 6,190 individual beneficiaries of pension credit in Macclesfield in May 2007.
	 Notes
	1. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	2. The number of individual beneficiaries includes both claimants and their partners, some of which may be under 60 years of age.
	3. Pensioner population includes all those people aged 60 or over based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-2006 population estimates.
	4. Household recipients and individual beneficiaries data is rounded to the nearest 10.
	 Source
	DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 1 October 2007,  Official Report, column 2376W, on pensions, for what reason his Department's Resource Accounts 2006-07, page 104, give the number of letters sent to pensioners between September 2004 and September 2005 as 414,427; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: As stated in the answer of 1 October 2007,  Official Report, column 2376W, on pensions, the Pension Service contacted 470,000 pensioners in the target group of 632,000 up to the end of the project in April 2006.
	The figure of 414,427 pensioners stated in the Deficiency Notices paragraph (note 39 of the Department's Resource Accounts 2006-07) refers to the number of pensioners contacted between the period September 2004 to September 2005. The figures quoted therefore relate to different periods and this is the reason for the difference.

Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have opted to contract out of the state second pension since its introduction.

Mike O'Brien: Since its introduction on 6 April 2002, around five million people have contracted out of the state second pension into either a personal pension, a stakeholder pension or an occupational pension. This figure is an estimate and based on a 3 per cent. sample of the national insurance records system database.

Pensions: Fraud

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to prevent the fraudulent use of deceased pensioners' details; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: DWP has specific processes in place to help ensure that deceased pensioners' details are not used for fraudulent purposes within the tax and benefit systems.
	When a person dies, DWP is notified of the registered death by the Office of National Statistics for deaths in England and Wales, the General Registrar's Office (Scotland) for deaths in Scotland and the General Registrar's Office (Northern Ireland) for deaths in Northern Ireland.
	When a death is notified, the date of death is recorded on the DWP customer information system (CIS) which in turn notifies the benefit systems in order to end payment of pensions and benefits. Local authorities are also notified for housing benefit and council tax benefit purposes.
	CIS will also notify the HMRC national insurance recording system (NIRS) of this date of death for tax purposes.
	Once an account held on CIS has a date of death inserted, there are specific checks in place to ensure that all access to deceased accounts for tax and benefit purposes is legitimate. There will often be some legitimate access to a deceased national insurance account held on CIS if for example, the surviving spouse claims pensions based on their late partner's national insurance contributions.
	This process helps protects the tax and benefit system from fraudulent attack using deceased pensioners' details. Processes are also in place, and will be utilised in the new year, to notify the Identity and Passport Service of deaths in order to prevent fraudulent use of a deceased person's identity to obtain, or use, a passport in the deceased person's name.

Pensions: National Insurance Contributions

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who will reach state pension age between now and April 2010 with 30 years or fewer national insurance contributions or credits.

Mike O'Brien: The latest information available indicates that at the end of the financial year 2003/04 there were around 1.8 million people due to reach state pension age before the 6 April 2010 who had not yet accrued more than 30 qualifying years for basic state pension.
	 Notes
	1. Figures refer to people who are estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003-04.
	2. Entitlement to basic state pension depends on a number of factors including the number of qualifying years accrued, home responsibilities protection and the spouse's contribution record.
	 Source
	Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2003-04

Pensions: Private Sector

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of private sector employers who offered any pension to employees in each year since 1997 for which data is available.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 764W.

Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish estimates of the number of people living in poverty in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department for Work and Pensions will publish poverty estimates for 2006-07 in the next Households Below Average Income report in spring 2008.

Social Fund

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1508-09W, on the social fund, what definition his Department uses of serious risk to health and safety in relation to crisis loan applications.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 13 December 2007
	There is no specific definition.
	However the social fund Directions state that:
	"... a social fund payment may be awarded to assist an applicant to meet expenses (except those excluded by these directions)
	(a) in an emergency, or as a consequence of a disaster, provided that the provision of such assistance is the only means by which serious damage or serious risk to the health or safety of that person, or to a member of his family, may be prevented;"
	Therefore the applicant has to meet three requirements; the need must have arisen as a result of a disaster or emergency; it must constitute a serious risk to the health and well being of the applicant or a member of their family and there must be no other means of meeting the need.
	The decision maker will consider carefully the circumstances of the applicant and should interpret the phrase, "serious damage or serious risk to the health or safety of that person" and "in an emergency, or as a consequence of a disaster," in a broad common sense manner that includes consideration of both physical and mental health.

Social Fund

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress is being made on achieving a single independent review of social fund claims.

James Plaskitt: There are no plans currently to change the discretionary social fund review process. This consists of an internal review and, for those still dissatisfied with the outcome of their application, an independent review by a social fund inspector at the Independent Review Service.

Social Fund

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of calls were connected to the social fund in the most recent period for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 17 December 2007
	The information requested is not available.

Social Fund: Applications

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people asked for a face to face interview about a social fund application and were not offered this in the latest month for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not routinely collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) on-flow and origin,  (b) off-flow and destination and  (c) stock figures for (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) incapacity benefit (not credits only), (iii) severe disablement allowance, (iv) income support with incapacity benefit credits and (v) income support, broken down by statistical group, were for each of the last 36 months for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 12 November 2007
	Information for on-flow origin and off-flow destination is not available. The available information has been placed in the Library.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance started their claim since 1997.

Anne McGuire: A total of 1,846,470 claimants, who were included in the incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance caseload in May 2007, have started their claim since 1997. Of these, 1,836,660 claimants were of working age.

Social Security Benefits: Christmas

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect on Post Office counters of the 2007 arrangements for paying benefits which would otherwise fall due over the Christmas period;
	(2)  what the earliest date is on which benefit payments which would otherwise fall due over the Christmas period may be paid; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will bring forward the earliest date on which benefit payments which would otherwise fall due over the Christmas period may be paid; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Department has always ensured that when customers are due payments on a national public holiday when most banks and financial institutions are closed, they have access to their money in advance.
	We normally advance payments to the last banking day before the Christmas holiday, which last year fell on 24 December. Post Office Ltd. had been aware for some time of these arrangements and had assured us that branches would be able to cope with the anticipated volumes.
	However, Post Office Ltd.'s own decision to close at lunch time on the Monday raised concerns about customers' ability to get their money that day. Post Office opening times are operational matters for Post Office management.
	Although Post Office Ltd. has provided further assurances that they would be able to cope, including with lunch time closing, we have decided that, where it is technically possible to do so, we will advance payments to 21 December last year. This means that every pensioner will receive their payment before Christmas and around three quarters of pensioners will be paid on 21 December. Some customers will still need to collect their money on the Monday and others may choose to do so. Post Office Ltd. has made clear that everyone who wants their money that day, will be able to get it.
	Eight out of 10 of the Department's customers are paid into bank accounts and will be able to access their money from their bank on the Monday, or whenever they want from cash machines over the Christmas period.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely increase in the number of claimants of  (a) disability living allowance (care component),  (b) attendance allowance and  (c) carer's allowance after 5 April 2008 when they become exportable within the european economic area;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely additional costs of  (a) disability living allowance (care component),  (b) attendance allowance and  (c) carer's allowance after 5 April 2008 when they become exportable within the european economic area;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the likely number of staff needed to handle extra cases of  (a) disability living allowance (care component),  (b) attendance allowance and  (c) carer's allowance after 5 April 2008 when they become exportable within the european economic area.

Anne McGuire: As I reported in my statement of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 68WS, we are still involved in ongoing discussions with the European Commission to clarify the extent of the Government's responsibilities following the judgment in the European court on 18 October 2007. Until we understand the full implications of the judgment we cannot estimate the additional costs, staffing requirements or the number of additional customers.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 68WS, on Disability Benefits (European Court of Justice), what matters he expects to be discussed in future meetings between officials from his Department and European Commission officials on European legislation on the exportability of benefits.

Anne McGuire: In its judgment of 18 October 2007, the European Court of Justice decided to remove the care component of disability living allowance, attendance allowance and carer's allowance from the list of non-exportable 'special non-contributory cash benefits' in Annex IIa to the EC Regulation 1408/71. The Court decided that these benefits should be classified as sickness benefits (as defined by Regulation 1408/71). We are working with the European Commission to clarify how our disability benefits, which are long term residence-based benefits, fit into a regime originally designed to cover short-term contributions-based sickness benefits.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 68WS, on disability benefits (European Court of Justice), what legal advice his Department sought ahead of the European Court of Justice's judgment; and at what cost.

Anne McGuire: In addition to legal consideration by internal legal advisers, Her Majesty's Government instructed external counsel to represent the United Kingdom in the proceedings before the European Court of Justice at a cost of approximately 19,000.

Social Security Benefits: Overseas Residence

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects on the payment of benefits to UK citizens resident elsewhere in the EU of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in case C299/05 on 18 October.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 68WS.

State Retirement Pensions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basic state pension was for  (a) couples and  (b) single households, excluding other benefits and special payments in each year since 1997-98, in cash terms.

Mike O'Brien: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			   Basic state pension for pensioner couple ()  Basic state pension for single pensioner () 
			 1997-98 99.80 62.45 
			 1998-99 103.40 64.70 
			 1999-2000 106.70 66.75 
			 2000-01 107.90 67.50 
			 2001-02 115.90 72.50 
			 2002-03 120.70 75.50 
			 2003-04 123.80 77.45 
			 2004-05 127.25 79.60 
			 2005-06 131.20 82.05 
			 2006-07 134.75 84.25 
			 2007-08 139.60 87.30 
			 2008-09 145.05 90.70 
			  Note: There are no singles or couples rates as such, the basic state pension is an individual benefit; although the category A rate is commonly referred to as the singles rate, and the combination of the category A and category B rate is commonly referred to as the couples rate.

Unemployment

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households include no one in full-time employment; and what steps he has taken to tackle worklessness in the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Working-age households in which no  one works full-time, United Kingdom, April-June 2007 (not seasonally adjusted) 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 Workless households 2,980,000 16.2 
			 Households with employed persons in which no one works full-time 1,673,000 9.1 
			 All households in which no one works full-time 4,653,000 25.3 
			  Notes: 1. A working-age household is a household that includes at least one person of working age (male aged 16-64 or female aged 16-59). 2. Estimates have not been adjusted for households with unknown economic status. 3. Base for percentages excludes households with unknown economic status. 4. As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty. 5. Variables used: HNFTIME, HEACOMB, RELHRP6.  Source:  Labour Force Survey household dataset 
		
	
	The percentage of households in which all inhabitants of working age are in employment has risen from 54.5 per cent. in 1997 to 57.9 per cent. in 2007. Through our active labour market policies we have achieved a record number of people in employment, an increase in the employment rate, and the lowest claimant unemployment level since 1975. There are now a million lone parents in work for the first time ever.
	We have taken forward an ongoing programme of welfare reform over the last five years and are determined to go further still. Our command paper Ready for work: full employment in our generation, published on 13 December 2007, sets out further measures to increase employment opportunities for disadvantaged people and to support them in taking up those opportunities.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Regional Income

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the gross value added of the Copeland area was dependent upon the farming industry in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: We are not able to provide data for the area of Copeland alone so the figures given are for the region of West Cumbria. This is made up of Copeland, Allerdale and Barrow-in-Furness, with Copeland covering just under half of the total area.
	For the region of West Cumbria the agricultural industry accounted for 2.1 per cent. of gross value added in 2005.

Agriculture: Subsidies

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of England's comparative performance against  (a) other EU member states,  (b) Wales and  (c) Scotland in making payments under the 2007 single payment scheme.

Jonathan R Shaw: We have relatively little data at this stage on 2007 SPS payments made by other EU member states. However, all parts of the UK have either met or are on course to meet their targets. This includes England, where figures published by RPA for the end of December showed that full SPS payments amounting to over 497 million had been made to nearly 50,000 claimants. With payments having been initiated a month earlier than for the last scheme year, the Agency is currently on track to meet its targets for 2007 SPS of making 75 per cent. of the total value of payments by the end of March 2008 and 90 per cent. by the end of May 2008.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total value is of single farm payments made to farmers within Copeland since the payments began.

Jonathan R Shaw: Detailed analysis of the total value of single farm payments made to farmers within Copeland since the payments began is not available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of single farm payments owed to farmers within Copeland for  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07 has not yet been paid.

Jonathan R Shaw: Detailed analysis of the percentage of single farm scheme owed to farmers within Copeland for 2005-06 and 2006-07 is not available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Avian Influenza: Pigeons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will relax restrictions on pigeon flights arising from measures to combat avian influenza.

Jonathan R Shaw: It is inappropriate to relax restrictions designed to mitigate the risks of introducing or spreading avian influenza in the face of uncertain evidence about the potential role that racing pigeons might play.
	DEFRA's Veterinary Risk Assessment takes account of all available evidence, including evidence that pigeons can be susceptible to this disease. In particular, a study by the European Food Safety Authority in 2006 concluded that pigeons may have the potential to act as a 'bridging' species between waterfowl and poultry. It is likely that the susceptibility of pigeons to avian influenza, and the clinical picture caused by infection, is strongly associated with genetic and biological variations between different strains of the virus.
	There is research available which suggests that pigeons have limited susceptibility to some virus strains (mainly isolated some years ago), but other more recent publications(1) suggest the contrary and demonstrate that recently isolated strains of HPAI H5N1 could infect pigeons. This later study indicates that pigeons may be asymptomatic carriers of avian influenza virus.
	Pigeons could also spread AI mechanically through infective material on their feet and feathers, and there is potential, especially in long races, for pigeons to land and mingle with wild birds while still on the continent.
	Pigeon races can still take place in the absence of avian influenza cases on the near continent. However, good biosecurity, record-keeping and notification requirements must be followed.
	(1) Yu et al, Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 13, No. 5, May 2007

Avian Influenza: Pigeons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider the merits of taking steps to review the status of the Channel Islands in relation to restrictions on pigeon flights arising from measures to combat avian influenza.

Jonathan R Shaw: Avian influenza can potentially be a fast spreading disease so it is important that we have robust measures in place to mitigate the risks. Therefore, we require any birds from outside the British Isles attending any type of bird gathering to first be resident in the British Isles for 28 days, to allow time for any clinical signs of disease to become evident. This mitigates the risk that birds might be infected when they enter the British Isles but are not yet showing clinical signs; that is, they are incubating the disease. When birds are gathered together it provides a high risk of dissemination of infectious disease should it be present.
	The geographical position of the Channel Islands means they are closer to continental Europe than the UK mainland, making it illogical to treat the Islands differently from France. For these purposes the islands are considered to be part of continental Europe rather than the British Isles. We therefore do not permit birds from the Channel Islands to attend gatherings in the British Isles without first being in the British Isles for 28 days. We have no plans to change this requirement.

Aviation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air miles were travelled by Ministers in his Department in each year since 2000; and what estimate he has made of the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced as a result.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, and for the period April 2006-September 2007 inclusive, ministerial air travel totalled 112,118 miles with an associated carbon dioxide emissions figure of 66,021 Kg/CO2. Information for the period(s) prior to April 2006 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	DEFRA Ministers attend meetings abroad for the purpose of representing the UK Government, and for furthering international dialogue. Where possible and appropriate, video conferencing is utilised as an alternative to air travel.

Aviation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air miles were travelled by  (a) the Secretary of State and  (b) Ministers in his Department on short haul flights over the last year; and what estimate he has made of the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced as a result of these flights.

Jonathan R Shaw: Since 1999 the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over 500. Information for the last financial year was published on 25 July 2007. Details for the current financial year will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year. From next year, the list will include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code
	All central Government ministerial and official air travel has been offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases certified emissions reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.
	In addition, offsetting the flights of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, and the Prime Minister has been backdated to 1 April 2005.
	A list of Government Carbon Offsetting Fund members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund is available online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/carbonoffset/government.htm

Aviation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on international flights in each year since it was established.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally the core-Department's expenditure on domestic, continental and inter-continental flights for the period April 2006-November 2007 inclusive is:
	
		
			
			 Domestic 296,937 
			 Continental 541,271 
			 Inter-Continental 1,372,694 
		
	
	Since 1999 the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over 500. Information for the last financial year was published on 25 July 2007. Details for the current financial year will be published as soon as possible after the end of the current financial year. From next year, the list will include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
	All central Government ministerial and official air travel has been offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases certified emissions reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.
	In addition, offsetting the flights of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, and the Prime Minister has been backdated to 1 April 2005.
	A list of Government Carbon Offsetting Fund members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund is available online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/carbonoffset/government.htm
	Other information on the core-Department's flights expenditure prior to April 2006 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Bats: Protection

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's responsibilities are for bat protection; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: As required by the European Habitats Directive, all species of bat and their roosts are afforded protection under regulation 39 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, c.) Regulations 1994. The principal offences address deliberate capturing, injuring or killing; deliberate disturbance; damaging or destroying a breeding site or resting place; and possessing, transporting, selling or exchanging live or dead specimens, Section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 also affords protection against intentional or reckless obstruction of access to places of shelter or protection; disturbance whilst in occupancy and sale activities, including advertisement for the purpose of sale.
	Where justified, exceptions to the legislative protection can be authorised under licences issued by Natural England.
	DEFRA also acts as the UK focal point for the Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats, also known as the Eurobats Agreement. This Agreement seeks to protect all 45 species of bats identified in Europe, through legislation, education, conservation measures and international co-operation with other range states. The UK Government was instrumental in establishing the agreement and acts as the depositary to it.

Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund differentiates between domestic and international flights.

Phil Woolas: Emissions from domestic and international flights are calculated differently where the air travel data available allow. Calculation factors for short, medium and long-haul flights are taken from DEFRA's Greenhouse Gas conversion factors for company reporting, available on the DEFRA website.

Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methodology is used by the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund to calculate the distance travelled to require one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent to be offset.

Phil Woolas: The Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) uses the DEFRA greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting to calculate emissions from air travel per kilometre.
	GCOF also employs a radiative forcing multiplier of two to account for the additional impacts of emissions at altitude. Figures are presented in the form of CO2e (equivalent). Air travel distances are reported in kilometres by individual GCOF participants.

Cattle

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what types of ear tag for cattle were shown to be most effective in the most recent survey of tags by his Department.

Jonathan R Shaw: No recent survey of cattle ear tags has been carried out by this Department.

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas  (a) cards,  (b) parties and  (c) decorations in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to review the premises excluded from section 102 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, with particular reference to transport-based premises; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have no current plans to review the premises excluded from section 102 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
	Transport operators are obliged to provide adequate lighting to ensure the health, safety and security of their employees, customers and others. Artificial lighting is needed outside at night.
	The transport premises exempted either tend to operate in a 24-7 environment or are places where essential maintenance takes place during the night due to the need to ensure that vehicles and the infrastructure is operational during the day. It is not open to the transport industry, without causing disruption to the wider economy, to switch operations to the daytime. In such cases, it is far more resource intensive to mitigate against light escaping into the atmosphere than is the case with other commercial premises where much of the activity will be carried out indoors and the question of light pollution can be addressed through adequate blinds.
	Where artificial lighting is required for operational, security and safety reasons in transport premises, it is in the public interest for Parliament to recognise this in the form of exemptions and to put beyond doubt that, in such circumstances, artificial lighting is not a statutory nuisance.
	The prime objective of extending the statutory nuisance provisions to include artificial lighting is to deal with local sources of bright light which cause annoyance to local residents, such as domestic security and decorative lighting. The existence of the transport exemptions does not affect the Act's effectiveness against this sort of problem.

Delivery Services

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which companies are under contract to his Department to provide mail services.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has Framework Agreements in place with Royal Mail and Amtrak for UK and International mail services. The Government Despatch Service is also used.

Departmental Buildings

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of new buildings approved by his Department were built to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method  (a) very good and  (b) excellent standard in each of the last five years; and what the construction cost of those buildings was.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Secretary of State can confirm that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) approved four new buildings through the period 2003-07. Of these 25 per cent. achieved very good and 75 per cent. achieved excellent under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) methodology, the very good rated project was a high containment laboratory complex.
	DEFRA is unable to provide full construction cost breakdown for these projects at this time as all developer/contractor cost information is not held centrally.
	These details will be provided to the right hon. Member for Hazel Grove by 25 January 2008.
	In addition to the above DEFRA completed five number major refurbishments through 2003-07 and of these 40 per cent. achieved very good and 20 per cent. achieved an excellent rating under the BREEAM methodology.

Departmental Data Protection

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned.

Jonathan R Shaw: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.

Departmental Pay

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Departmental employees were paid  (a) over 60,000 and  (b) over 100,000 per annum, inclusive of bonuses, in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: In the 2006-07 financial year 290 staff were paid between 60,000 and 100,000 and 28 staff were paid over 100,000 per annum, inclusive of bonuses.
	This data relates to staff in core-DEFRA and those Agencies covered by the core-Department's reward arrangements (Animal Health, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine and Fisheries Agency and Government Decontamination Services).
	Bonuses are used to reward excellent performance during the year, and are based on a judgment of how well an individual has performed relative to their peers. Performance related pay schemes encourage high attainment because bonuses have to be earned each year. They help drive high performance in departments and agencies and support better public service delivery.

Departmental Procurement

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the standard terms and conditions of purchase used by his Department in procurement of goods and services from the private sector prohibit the assignment of debt.

Jonathan R Shaw: Yes, the standard terms and conditions of purchase used by the Department in procurement of goods and services from the private sector include a prohibition against assignment. This is a common provision where one party does not wish to deal with a third party it has not chosen to deal with as the other contracting party.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if he will break down his Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

Jonathan R Shaw: Near-cash and non-cash are essentially used as Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) budgetary control concepts and are not specifically identified with voted resources in estimates. However, we have been able to break down net total resources for each section in the Part II: Subhead detail table of our Main Estimate and Winter Supplementary Estimate as follows:
	
		
			  Part II SubheadMain Estimate 
			  000 
			Non-cash  Near-cash  Net total resource 
			   Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) 
			  Central Government spending
			 A Animal Health and Welfare  301,914 301,914 
			 B Environment  1,104,082 1,104,082 
			 C Sustainable Farming Food and Fisheries  88,313 88,313 
			 D Natural Resources and Rural Affairs  343,119 343,119 
			 E Departmental Operations 23,712 204,867 228,579 
			 F Rural Payments Agency EC Funded  2,297,122 2,297,122 
			 G Rural Payments Agency running costs  157,882 157,882 
			 H Rural Payments Agency other 82,400  82,400 
			 I Other executive agencies 29,438 106,811 136,249 
			  
			   Support for local authorities 
			 J Environment  144,537 144,537 
			 K Rural Payments Agency EC Funded  4,992 4,992 
			  
			   Spending in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) 
			  Central Government spending
			 L Environment 55,600  55,600 
			  
			  Non-Budget
			 M Environment  692,778 692,778 
			 N Sustainable Farming Food and Fisheries  9,391 9,391 
			 O Natural Resources and Rural Affairs  199,654 199,654 
			 P Departmental Operations  24,899 24,899 
			 Q Rural Payments Agency EC Funded
			 R Other executive agencies
			  
			  Total for Estimate 191,150 5,680,361 5,871,511 
		
	
	
		
			  Part II SubheadWinter Supplementary Estimate 
			  000 
			Non-cash  Near-cash  Net Total Resource 
			   Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) 
			  Central Government spending
			 A Animal Health and Welfare  262,119 262,119 
			 B Environment  919,763 919,763 
			 C Sustainable Farming Food and Fisheries  84,314 84,314 
			 D Natural Resources and Rural Affairs  328,861 328,861 
			 E Departmental Operations 34,712 216,053 250,765 
			 F Rural Payments Agency EC Funded 0 2,297,207 2,297,207 
			 G Rural Payments Agency running costs 21,815 244,224 266,039 
			 H Rural Payments Agency other 82,400  82,400 
			 I Other executive agencies 32,115 107,455 139,570 
			  
			  Support for local authorities
			 J Environment  144,537 144,537 
			 K Rural Payments Agency EC Funded  4,992 4,992 
			  
			   Spending in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) 
			  Central Government spending
			  L Environment 55,600  55,600 
			  
			  Non-Budget
			 M Environment  693,930 693,930 
			 N Sustainable Farming Food and Fisheries  9,391 9,391 
			 O Natural Resources and Rural Affairs  200,207 200,207 
			 P Departmental Operations  24,899 24,899 
			 Q Rural Payments Agency EC Funded
			 R Other executive agencies
			  
			   Spending in Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) 
			  Central Government spending
			 S Local Area Agreements  118,621 118,621 
			  
			  Total for Estimate 226,642 5,656,573 5,883,215

Departmental Redundancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding  (a) 30 June 2004,  (b) 30 June 2005 and  (c) 30 June 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information is not readily available to provide an accurate and timely answer to this question in line with the periods requested. I can confirm that for the most closely aligned financial years the cost of redundancies within my Department were:
	
		
			  As at 31 March each year   
			 2004 496,650.30 
			 2005 555,157.35 
			 2006 221,494.07

Departmental Sustainable Development

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) new build and  (b) refurbishment projects in 2005-06 met the targets under the Framework of Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Phil Woolas: In its 2006 annual report on Sustainable Development in Government, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) reported 15 new build and 16 refurbishment projects incorporated a full range of Sustainable Development considerations. The information was compiled from information returned by Departments. The SDC's report is available on its website at:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2006

Dredging: Norfolk

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of offshore aggregate dredging on sea defences and erosion along the East Anglian coastline on the Norfolk economy; what his policy is on the future of offshore aggregate dredging; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Dredging of marine minerals in English waters is carefully controlled under the Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007. Currently, the area licensed for extraction in the UK is only 1 per cent. of the sea bed. The actual area dredged is even smaller, equating to less than 15 per cent. of the licensed area.
	All marine minerals dredging proposals are subject to an environmental impact assessment and must be accompanied by an environmental statement and coastal impact study. Dredging will only be permitted if conservative modelling and assessments indicate that no significant harm will occur to the marine environment and the coastline. As the dredging proceeds, such assessments are routinely checked through monitoring.
	The recently published Marine Aggregate Extraction summary report (Marine Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund, 2007) concluded that, based on recent research, modelling and field studies, almost all marine aggregate extraction areas are too far offshore to have any effect on the coastline.
	The Government wish to see indigenous mineral resources developed and utilised within a framework of sustainable development. Marine dredging of sand and gravel makes a significant contribution to the supply of aggregate to the construction industry, and is important for beach nourishment as well as flood and coastal defence schemes, particularly along the north Norfolk coasts. In 2006 the total marine aggregate production from the UK was 24.3 million tonnes, with 33 per cent. (8 million tonnes) derived from the east coast.

Early Retirement

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November,  Official Report, column 616W, on early retirement, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the early retirement schemes being offered to staff; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 11 December 2007
	The total cost of early departure schemes being run by this Department during financial year 2007-08 is estimated at 47 million.

Early Retirement

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November,  Official Report, column 616W, on early retirement, what the grades are of those members of staff who have  (a) been offered and (b) accepted early retirement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 11 December 2007
	 Pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 616W:
	 (a) (i) the grades of staff to whom voluntary early retirement (VER) was offered in the six months to 27 November 2007 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Support Grade Band 1 2 
			 Support Grade Band 2 8 
			 Administrative Assistant 4 
			 Administrative Officer 35 
			 Executive Officer 27 
			 Higher Executive Officer 21 
			 Plant Health and Seeds Inspector II 1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 20 
			 Senior Professional Technical Officer 2 
			 Grade 6 8 
			 Grade 7 30 
			 Senior Civil Service 3 
			 Total 161 
		
	
	(ii) of those listed at  (a) (i), the grades of staff who accepted VER offers are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Support Grade Band 1 2 
			 Support Grade Band 2 8 
			 Administrative Assistant 3 
			 Administrative Officer 25 
			 Executive Officer 24 
			 Higher Executive Officer 18 
			 Plant Health and Seeds Inspector II 1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 19 
			 Senior Professional Technical Officer 2 
			 Grade 6 7 
			 Grade 7 30 
			 Senior Civil Service 3 
			 Total 142 
		
	
	 (b) (i) the grades of staff to whom voluntary early severance (VES) was offered in the six months to 27 November 2007 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Support Grade Band 1 5 
			 Support Grade Band 2 10 
			 Administrative Assistant 11 
			 Administrative Officer 50 
			 Personal Secretary 3 
			 Senior Personal Secretary 1 
			 Executive Officer 69 
			 Higher Executive Officer 49 
			 Higher Executive Officer (Development) 1 
			 Plant Health and Seeds Inspector II 1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 16 
			 Grade 6 1 
			 Grade 7 13 
			 Total 230 
		
	
	(ii) of those listed at  (b) (i), the grades of staff who accepted VES offers are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Support Grade Band 1 5 
			 Support Grade Band 2 10 
			 Administrative Assistant 9 
			 Administrative Officer 46 
			 Personal Secretary 3 
			 Senior Personal Secretary 1 
			 Executive Officer 63 
			 Higher Executive Officer 47 
			 Higher Executive Officer (Development) 1 
			 Plant Health and Seeds Inspector II 1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 12 
			 Grade 6 1 
			 Grade 7 11 
			 Total 210 
		
	
	Figures on acceptances have been amended to reflect acceptances which have taken place since the date of the reply on 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 616W, referred to.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the revenue which will be obtained from auctioning of allowances under Phase II of the European Emissions Trading Scheme in each year over the period of the scheme; what proportion of this revenue he expects will be spent on schemes  (a) to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and  (b) to mitigate the effects of global warming; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Under the terms of the EU ETS Directive 2003/87/EC the total number of allowances auctioned cannot exceed 10 per cent. of the number allocated during Phase II. We plan to auction 7 per cent. of allowances in Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), amounting to approximately 85 million allowances, plus those allowances from installations that close during Phase II and any unused surplus from the New Entrant Reserve (NER).
	The Government's spending priorities are not in general, determined by the way in which the money is raised. The spending review process ensures that resources are allocated efficiently to deliver Government objectives and ensures priorities receive the increased levels of funding, as set out in the comprehensive spending review (CSR).
	The CSR increases DEFRA's budget by 1.4 per cent. in real terms, from 3,508 million in 2007-08 to 3,960 million. This increase allows the Government to allocate substantial resources to tackle climate change including the Environmental Transformation Fund, and increased resources for flood defences to help the UK adapt.

Farmers: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of farmers in Copeland who have diversified into other business areas in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: Results from the Survey of Labour, Machinery and Diversification on Agricultural and Horticultural holdings 2005 for diversification in Copeland are given in the following table. These exclude businesses independent from the farm which do not use farm resources.
	
		
			  Farms which undertook diversification activity in 2005 
			   Percentage 
			 Copeland 20 
			 England 21 
		
	
	The survey sample consisted of around 40 thousand farms in England, of which around 100 farms were from Copeland.
	Note, these figures are likely to underestimate the levels of diversification since farmers tend to only record large diversification activities and may not record some activities due to the complexities of defining diversification.

Fisheries: Quotas

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 865W on Fisheries: Quotas, on what Quota Management Change Programme proposals his Department was prepared to consult in autumn 2007; if he will place a copy of drafts in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: As noted in my answer of 21 November to the hon. Member, DEFRA and the devolved fisheries administrations had been planning to consult on the findings of the Quota Management Change Programme (QMCP) in autumn 2007. When the Scottish Executive announced its withdrawal from the QMCP in June 2007, the draft consultation document was incomplete, with some further work required which would have been carried out before the planned autumn consultation. Subsequent developments have in any case overtaken certain aspects of the draft proposals. In these circumstances, the publication of the draft document in its present form would be misleading and unhelpful.

Fisheries: Quotas

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to make changes to the management and quota arrangements for the 10 metre and under fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 703W.

Floods: Cleethorpes

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken to prevent flooding in Cleethorpes constituency; and what plans he has for additional steps to be taken.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency has been developing a long-term strategy for the management of tidal flood risk around the Humber estuary over the next 100 years. This strategy has recently been completed and will be launched on 7 March 2008.
	The Environment Agency has completed a number of improvements to flood defences in the last five years in advance of the aforementioned strategy. This includes improvement works to the concrete defences at Stallingborough in 2002 at a cost of 2.2 million, improvements to the earth embankments at Barton on Humber in 2005 at a cost of 3.4 million and new pumps and electrics at Butts Road Pumping Station in 2007 at a cost of 0.165 million.
	In 2007, the Environment Agency commissioned a system of flood warning sirens in the Grimsby and North Cleethorpes area. These will be sounded if the Environment Agency issues a 'severe flood warning' for extreme tidal conditions.

Floods: Compensation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make representations to Severn Trent plc to grant compensation to Gloucestershire residents who were without mains water for a substantial period of time following the July floods.

Phil Woolas: Under the GSS (Guaranteed Service Standard) automatic right to compensation is not available to those Severn Trent customers that found themselves without water. This is because compensation is not payable if the disruption is caused by severe weather conditions (including flooding). Nonetheless, Severn Trent Water has put in place a community recovery fund of 3.5 million to support a range of projects in Gloucestershire. This payment was made on a voluntary basis and will come from company profits rather than customers' bills.
	Research carried out and reported by Consumer Council for Water found that most residents recognise that the flooding and subsequent loss of water supply to over 140,000 households was unprecedented and that the majority are not seeking compensation. Instead they are seeking a clear commitment from Severn Trent that the company will invest to protect its infrastructure.

Floods: Insurance Companies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will include representatives of insurance companies in the work of local flood forums.

Phil Woolas: For emergency planning purposes, the principal mechanism for local multi-agency co-operation is the Local Resilience Forum; Local Flood Forums and Groups are independent of Government and free to liaise with whomever they choose. However, advice given on insurance issues to Local Resilience Forums and local responders on emergency situations is contained in National Recovery Guidance.
	At the national level, Government work closely with the Association of British Insurers with the mutual aim of ensuring continued widespread availability of flood insurance cover.

Floods: Warnings

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review the flood warning system operated by the Environment Agency, including the most appropriate form of warning given; and if he will introduce an opt-out system of flood warning registration.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to Sir Michael Pitt's Interim Report on the 2007 floods, to which the Secretary of State responded to on 17 December.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the loss in income to farmers in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency as a consequence of the 2007 foot and mouth disease outbreaks.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's current estimate of the economic cost to the UK livestock sector of the movement restrictions and the ban on exports imposed as a result of foot and mouth disease is over 100 million. Disaggregated estimates of the cost to farmers in individual constituencies have not been made.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the recent foot and mouth disease outbreak on the agricultural economy of  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's current estimate of the economic cost to the GB livestock sector of the movement restrictions and the ban on exports imposed as a result of foot and mouth disease is over 100 million. Disaggregated estimates of the cost to farmers in individual counties and constituencies have not been made.

Groundwater: Monitoring

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the procedure is for monitoring groundwater levels; how frequently such monitoring is carried out; and what plans he has to increase the frequency.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency monitors groundwater levels from over 6,400 boreholes across England and Wales. These boreholes are monitored at frequencies ranging from every 15 minutes by automation to manually, either quarterly or half yearly.
	The frequency of monitoring at any particular borehole is determined by the way in which the data is used and the hydro-geological setting from which it is being collected.

Warm Front Scheme: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the total costs of all Warm Front schemes were material costs in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Between 1 December 2006 and 30 November 2007, 25.58 per cent. of the total costs for the Warm Front scheme were material costs.

Warm Front Scheme: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many and what proportion of cases the cost of Warm Front work recommended exceeded the available grant  (a) in Bassetlaw and  (b) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Since June 2005, 16.94 per cent. of households in England which received assistance through the Warm Front scheme were asked to pay an excess contribution.
	Over the same period 22.33 per cent. of households in Bassetlaw which received Warm Front assistance were asked to pay an excess contribution.

Irish Sea: Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what pollution incidents there were involving more than 0.01 tonnes of spillage in the Irish Sea in each year since 2003; on what date each occurred; what size the spillage was; and which company  (a) reported and  (b) was responsible for each incident.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency's pollution incident database shows that there were 237 recorded incidents on or close to the Irish Sea coast between 2004 and 2006. These cover a range of incident types and severities. Not all of these spillages or releases will have entered the waters of the Irish Sea.

Irish Sea: Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effect of tribulyte tin from ships on the marine environment in the Irish Sea.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), together with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and the Fisheries Research Services in Scotland have carried out studies on the effects of tributyl tin (TBT) on dogwhelks in the seas around the UK, including the Irish sea. The results, based on surveys between 1994 and 2003, show that effects on reproduction only appear to be significant within a few hundred metres from point source discharges of TBT.

Irish Sea: Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are in place to monitor the effect of the tribulyte tin from ships on the marine environment in the Irish Sea.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), together with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and the Fisheries Research Services in Scotland have carried out studies on the effects of tributyl tin (TBT) on dogwhelks in the seas around the UK, including the Irish sea. The results, based on surveys between 1994 and 2003, show that effects on reproduction only appear to be significant within a few hundred metres from point source discharges of TBT.
	In the UK, approval for use of tributyl tin as a biocide in antifouling systems, granted under the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) or the Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR), was revoked by the Health and Safety Executive in 2003.

Irish Sea: Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his next OSPAR quality status report on the Irish Sea is due; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The main joint working on the state of the Irish sea is carried out within the framework of the Oslo and Paris (OSPAR) Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic, where regular assessments are done, information gathered by the various organisations is brought together and assessments are made and published in the OSPAR quality status report (QSR). The last QSR was published in the year 2000, and included a regional report on the Celtic seas. The next QSR will be published in 2010.

Meat: Imports

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that meat is not imported from countries which are experiencing problems with foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Controls on imports of meat are laid down in European Community legislation. Imports are permitted from certain countries where foot and mouth disease (FMD) is present, but only where the disease is restricted to specific areas. In such cases, imports are only permitted from parts of the country that are free of disease or under strict conditions to ensure the meat does not come from any animal that may have come in contact with FMD before, during or after slaughter. These provisions are in line with guidelines established by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), the world animal health organisation.
	All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by appropriate veterinary certification. It must enter at designated Border Inspection Posts where checks are carried out to ensure that import conditions have been met. All consignments are subject to identity and documentary checks and at least 20 per cent. of consignments undergo a physical check.
	If an EU country experiences an outbreak of FMD, meat from that country can only be traded if it meets certain conditions laid down in Community law in relation to the origin and/or processing of the meat. Community law also allows Member States to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of meat from all, or parts of, EU and third countries where FMD is present.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: On an annual basis the Cabinet Office publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Libraries of the House.

Mushrooms: Compost

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many mushroom composting plants there are in England.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are three firms in England producing spawned compost for mushroom growers.

National Identity Register

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to make use of data on the national identity register when it is established; and what the estimated cost to his Department of that use is.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA will be working with the Home Office prior to the introduction of the national identity scheme to establish how identity information held on the proposed national identity register might be used to provide easier access to DEFRA's services for our customers. It is too early in the process to establish the detailed costs and benefits.

Recycling: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion and volume of household waste collected for recycling was sent  (a) overseas and  (b) to China, for processing in the latest period for which figures are available.

Joan Ruddock: Where non-hazardous wastes (such as separated recyclables) are exported, they are generally subject only to commercial controls and not to the prior notification and consent procedures which apply to exports of hazardous wastes. Precise data on the amounts and destinations of exported recyclables are not, therefore, available.
	However, HM Revenue and Customs' indicative overseas trade statistics indicate that, of the waste metal, paper, plastic and glass cullet and their associated scraps exported from the UK in 2006, 19 per cent. were destined for China. The tonnages for China that year were estimated at 2,400,000 against a figure for all exports of 12,700,000.

Recycling: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of performance against targets set for local authorities on recycling and composting, in each year since 2000-01.

Joan Ruddock: Recycling and composting targets for household waste were set for each local authority in England for 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2007-08. Performance against the targets is measured by adding together recycling and composting rates under best value performance indicators 82a (household waste the local authority sends for recycling) and 82b (waste sent by the authority to composting or anaerobic digestion).
	261 (66 per cent.) authorities met or exceeded their individual targets in 2005-06; while in 2003-04, 224 authorities (57 per cent.) met their individual targets.
	Individual local authorities best value performance indicators are available on the Audit Commission website (www.audit-commission.gov.uk) or via the Communities and Local Government's best value website (www.bvpi.gov.uk). Statistical data relating to national recycling performance are available on the DEFRA website. England's household recycling and composting rates for years from 2000-01 are as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 200-01 11.2 
			 2001-2 12.5 
			 2002-3 14.5 
			 2003-4 17.8 
			 2004-5 22.5 
			 2005-6 26.7 
			 2006-7 30.9

Rural Payments Agency: Christmas

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Rural Payments Agency has to hold a Christmas party or parties in 2007.

Jonathan R Shaw: The RPA does not organise or subsidise Christmas Parties for its staff. Should teams or sections decide to mark the season together, they are organised and paid for locally by the staff themselves.

Rural Payments Agency: Expenditure

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the Rural Payments Agency's income was spent on  (a) administration and  (b) payments to farmers in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The RPA's income was expended on running costs and scheme expenditure. The following figures are as reported in the Rural Payments Annual Report and Accounts, but rounded.
	
		
			   2006-07  2005-06 
			million  Percentage   million  Percentage 
			 Net running costs 228 10.3 239 9.5 
			 Scheme expenditure 1,998 89.7 2,279 90.5 
			 Total expenditure 2,226  2,518  
		
	
	The majority of scheme expenditure is funded by the European Commission under CAP schemes.
	The above excludes schemes which are administered by other agencies but for which RPA is the paying agency. It also excludes payments made by other UK paying agencies which RPA funds as the UK funding body.

Seas and Oceans

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the effect of the proposals in the Planning Bill on  (a) the proposed Marine Bill and  (b) the marine environment; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA Ministers and officials have worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the development of both the Marine and Planning Bills. We will continue to do so during their passage through Parliament to ensure that our proposals for new legislation are coherent and compatible.
	Both Bills seek to promote the Government's policy of sustainable development in the marine environment.

Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to simplify the infrastructure and division of responsibilities between the responsible agencies in relation to drains and drainage.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1008W.

Sheep Meat: Exports

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what rules his Department has set for the export of lamb carcases with mesenteric fat attached.

Jonathan R Shaw: h olding answer 7 January 2008
	There are no additional export rules relating to lambs with mesenteric fat attached.
	No immediate public health concern is attached to carcases dressed this way, provided both the lamb and the fat have been produced hygienically in accordance with European legislation, and passed as fit for human consumption after post mortem inspection.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has made of the number of waste collection authorities in England that use (i) sacks and (ii) wheelie bins for collecting residual household waste;
	(2)  what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste Resources Action Programme has given to local authorities on the use of barcodes on receptacles for household rubbish;
	(3)  what procurement guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste Resources Action Programme has produced for local authorities, on the purchase of receptacles for the collection of household rubbish.

Joan Ruddock: No estimate has been made by my Department or by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the receptacles used by waste collection authorities in England to collect residual household waste. Decisions on the best way to collect waste are a matter for local authorities, not central Government.
	Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 empowers local authorities to specify the number, size, construction and maintenance of their waste receptacles, what can be placed in each, and also where and when they should be placed for collection.
	WRAP provides general guidance and support to local authorities on their waste collection services and procurement. However, neither WRAP nor DEFRA has issued specific procurement guidance on the purchase of receptacles for household waste or the use of barcodes on receptacles for household rubbish.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste Resources Action Programme has given to local authorities on whether the disposing of domestic rubbish in a municipal litter bin constitutes an offence.

Joan Ruddock: Neither DEFRA nor the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have produced guidance on the legality of disposing of household waste in municipal litter bins.
	There is a range of powers available to local authorities to ensure waste is dealt with legitimately. The Government encourage authorities to make good use of the powers available to them, taking account of local circumstances and priorities.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which waste collection authorities in England, according to records held by  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste Resources Action Programme, have (i) no side waste collection policies and (ii) closed lid collection policies with regard to the collection of household waste.

Joan Ruddock: Neither my Department nor the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) hold the records requested.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to allow charges for householders using civic amenity sites to dispose of household residual waste.

Joan Ruddock: The Government have no plans to allow charges for householders using civic amenity sites to dispose of household residual waste.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalties were issued for  (a) putting domestic rubbish in the wrong container,  (b) leaving domestic rubbish out on the wrong day and  (c) overfilling a wheelie bin with domestic rubbish in the last year for which figures are available.

Joan Ruddock: DEFRA does not hold the information requested. Data provided by each local authority in England includes details of the number of fixed penalty notices issued in respect of waste receptacle-related offences generally. These figures are not broken down further into specific types of offence.
	Data for 2006-07 (the most recent available) are available from DEFRA's website.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research and statistical data gathering has been conducted by the Waste Resources Action Programme into the proportion and volume of household rubbish collected for recycling that is not recycled.

Joan Ruddock: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has conducted no research or statistical data gathering into the proportion and volume of household rubbish collected for recycling that is not recycled Though data collection has improved significantly in recent years, there is currently no available data to show how big the discrepancy is between waste being accepted at a recycling plant and that amount actually being recycled. DEFRA estimates the gap to be small.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the additional revenue to be raised from new bin taxes on family homes.

Joan Ruddock: No additional revenue will be raised from waste incentive schemes because local authorities must return any revenue they raise to residents, through rebates for those producing low levels of waste.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which waste collection authorities have expressed an interest in taking part in the pilots for the new proposed household rubbish collection tax.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 9 January 2008
	 My Department is currently considering the appropriate process for waste collection authorities to express an interest in running a pilot waste incentive scheme. Timings for this process will be subject to parliamentary progress on the Climate Change Bill. In the meantime, we continue to encourage and welcome authorities making enquiries on the implications of the legislation.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on charging charity shops for waste disposal; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to stop the over-charging by local authorities of charity shops for collecting and disposing of waste from their shops.

Joan Ruddock: Regulation 4 of the Controlled Waste Regulations (CWR), generally referred to as schedule 2, states that one of the types of household waste for which an authority can make a charge for collection is that from 'premises occupied by a charity and used for charitable purposes'. Authorities cannot charge for the disposal of waste classed as household waste.
	The CWR, as they pertain to waste, have not changed since 1992. However, it has recently come to DEFRA's attention that there is an inconsistent approach to councils' interpretation of these regulations. In the light of this, in October 2007, DEFRA wrote to all waste authorities in England clarifying its interpretation of the regulations and their waste data reporting duties. A copy of this letter is available on the DEFRA website at:
	www.defra.gov.uk

Waste Disposal: Radioactive Wastes

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects his Department to make a formal response to the recently concluded public consultation on managing radioactive waste safely.

Phil Woolas: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced the publication of the 'Summary and Analysis of Responses to the Consultation on Managing Radioactive Waste Safely; A Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal', in a written statement to the House on 10 January 2008.
	The consultation responses will be considered in developing the details of the next stages of the implementation process. This will be set out in a White Paper to be published in the first half of this year.

Water: Nitrates

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the sources of nitrates found in water; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The paper 'D1 Nitrates in water: the current status in England (2006)', published in support of the consultation on implementation of the nitrates directive in England, details DEFRA's assessment of the sources of nitrogen in surface waters in England.
	The source of nitrates found in water, in England, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Source  (kt N/yr)  Percentage 
			 Agricultural land 330 60.6 
			 Sewage treatment works 175 32.1 
			 Non-agricultural land 23 4.1 
			 Direct industrial 9.5 1.8 
			 Septic tanks 3.9 0.7 
			 Direct deposition 2.1 0.4 
			 Combined storm overflows 1.9 0.3

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Government Departments: Contracts

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what rules are in place for deciding which outsourced Government projects should be put to open tender.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	All Government procurement, including for outsourcing, operates within a legal and policy framework based on the EU procurement rules and the Government's policy of securing value for money.
	The EU rules comprise the EU procurement directives and the EU treaty. Procurements valued above certain thresholds, starting at around 90,000, must meet the requirements of the EU directives, and must be subject to open competition following advertisement in the  Official Journal of the European Union. In addition, the EU treaty principles, which govern all procurement regardless of the value, require that public purchasing is conducted in a transparent and open manner. This normally requires a level of advertising proportionate to the value of the contract.
	Government policy, as set out in Managing Public Money, is to achieve value for money (VFM) for all purchases. VFM is usually achieved through competition by means of open tendering procedures.

Honours: Criminal Investigation

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  which external law firms or barristers were paid from the public purse for legal advice to employees in connection with the police inquiry into honours;
	(2)  what the timetable is for the Government to publish the cost of the legal advice for employees in connection with the police inquiry into honours.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total legal costs incurred by the Government were in respect of advice to  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials with regard to the inquiry into cash for honours.

Edward Miliband: Following his evidence session before the Committee on 13 November, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the home civil service submitted a memorandum to the Public Administration Select Committee on the provision and cost of legal advice provided to civil servants in connection with the Metropolitan police inquiry into allegations of cash for peerages. The Select Committee has now published the memorandum and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

JUSTICE

Cemeteries

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to change the law on burials, with particular reference to the re-use of graves; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: On 5 June 2007, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) announced that we would introduce measures to allow local authorities to re-use graves in their cemeteries and make other improvements to burial law as and when opportunities arose. We are currently preparing detailed proposals for re-using old graves and will make a further announcement in due course. This will of course be subject to public consultation.

Civil Proceedings: Custodial Treatment

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are in prison for  (a) non-payment of fines,  (b) civil debt and  (c) other civil matters; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: In 2006, the last year for which information is available, 1,904 persons were imprisoned for the non-payment of fines. In the same year a total of 4,734 persons were imprisoned for non criminal matters in the Crown and magistrates courts. This figure cannot be broken down to show those imprisoned for civil debt or other civil matters.
	The figures for those imprisoned as a result of orders made in the County courts are not available.

Courts: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 507W, on courts: Colchester, when in 2008 he expects the outline business case for a new courthouse at Colchester to be  (a) completed and  (b) submitted for approval; on what date he expects building work to (i) commence and (ii) be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The outline business case for the new courthouse in Colchester is planned to be  (a) completed and  (b) submitted for departmental approval during March 2008. Subject to departmental and HM Treasury approval and subsequent statutory approvals, it is planned for the building work to (i) commence during summer 2009 and, (ii) with a construction completion estimated to be summer 2011.

Departmental Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Jack Straw: Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. As Secretary of State for Justice, I have not received any corporate hospitality which requires registration under section 7.24 of the code.

Driving Offences: Convictions

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) women and  (b) men were convicted for drink driving offences in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: Available information held on convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs from 1996 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as they cannot reliably be distinguished separately.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1)  by gender, England and Wales, 1996 to 2005 
			   Number of offences 
			   Female  Male 
			 1996 7,750 87,956 
			 1997 8,425 91,777 
			 1998 8,509 84,607 
			 1999 8,409 80,955 
			 2000 8,457 77,372 
			 2001 8,401 76,341 
			 2002 9,512 80,973 
			 2003 10,112 83,589 
			 2004 10,765 85,473 
			 2005 10,849 82,869 
			 (1) Data cover summary offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs (which cannot reliably be distinguished separately).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, is less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Legal Aid Scheme: ICT

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the online computer system for reporting legal aid claims by solicitors was originally planned to come into operation.

Maria Eagle: The Legal Services Commission intended the system to come into operation in late October/early November, in order to support the introduction of the new civil and family fees schemes.
	The system is currently suspended due to technical problems but the LSC is working hard with its technical partners Oracle and Steria to resolve these problems as soon as possible.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many briefings have been presented to Ministers on the Tasker inquiry; what the date of each briefing was; how many pages were contained in each written briefing; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: My predecessor, the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Sutcliffe) received an oral briefing prior to a meeting with the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) which included the Tasker inquiry. It has not been possible to establish the date. I received an oral briefing on 30 July 2007, covering parliamentary questions from the hon. Member about the enquiry.
	I and my predecessors have received numerous written background briefings accompanying draft parliamentary questions, but the high number of questions involved means that it would involve significant disproportionate cost to establish the number and length of these briefings.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many investigations carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman since 2001 have been conducted by staff who used to work for HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: It is a matter for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to determine his staff. Staff who work in the office of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman have been recruited from a wide variety of employment backgrounds, including some having previously worked for HM Prison Service and the probation service. It is right that the office has a good mix of experience across its cadre of investigators in particular, including having operational knowledge of the organisations which can be subject to investigations. This mix is kept under review. Detailed information on the precise numbers of staff, present and past, who have carried out investigations for the PPO since 2001 and have previously worked for HM Prison Service, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) full-time,  (b) part-time and  (c) casual staff employed by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman have previously been employed by HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: It is a matter for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to determine his staff. Staff have been recruited from a wide variety of employment backgrounds, including some having previously worked for HM Prison Service and the probation service. It is right that the office has a good mix of experience across its cadre of investigators in particular, including having operational knowledge of the organisations which can be subject to investigations. This mix is kept under review. Detailed information on the precise numbers of staff, full or part time, who have been employed by the prisons and probation ombudsman and previously employed by HM Prison Service is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Social Security Benefits

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether asylum seekers who are given leave to remain in the UK because their files have been lost are entitled to backdate benefits claims.

Liam Byrne: There is no policy to grant leave to remain to asylum seekers on the grounds that their file has been lost. All cases are considered on their merits, according to existing law and policy.

Chinese Community: Greater London

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by whom and for what reasons television and other media were invited to attend the raid in Chinatown on 11 October; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The media were invited to observe the work being undertaken by the Border and Immigration Agency to combat illegal working and to enforce the UK's immigration laws. The media have accompanied the agency on a number of operations in the London and South East region in the last few months.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of posts in her Department have been recategorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office is committed to achieving work force reductions of 2,327 posts by the end of 2007-08. This is a net target and no posts will be reallocated to the frontline as part of it.

Departmental Minimum Wage

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many London-based staff are employed by her Department on the national minimum wage.

Liam Byrne: There are no London-based staff employed by the Home Office or its agencies on the national minimum wage.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the winter supplementary estimates (HC 29), if she will break down her Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

Liam Byrne: Near cash/non cash splits relate to departmental expenditure limit resource budget controls and are not compatible with supply estimates which relate to voted resource expenditure. Voted expenditure for the Home Department at the winter supplementary estimate 2007-08 is some 922,944,000 higher than the resource budget departmental expenditure limit. A high level reconciliation between the different bases is provided within the estimate.
	The following table assigns non-cash within resource budgets to the related subhead at the main estimate 2007-08 and the winter supplementary estimate 2007-08. All other provision is near cash.
	
		
			  000 
			  Subhead   Main estimate  Winter supplementary estimate 
			 C Criminal Records Bureau 717 717 
			 D Counter Terrorism and Intelligence 21,319 16,719 
			 F Criminal justice reform 16,338 0 
			 G National Offender Management Service HQ 383,983 0 
			 H Prisons - private sector 23,720 0 
			 I Prisons - public sector (4,900) 0 
			 J Probation HQ 457 0 
			 K Border and Immigration Agency 72,136 72,446 
			 L Identity and passport Service 22,563 44,563 
			 M Central services 3,439 (15,528) 
			 W Independent Police Complaints Commission 2,626 2,626 
			 X Security Industry Authority 2,583 2,583 
			 Y Serious and Organised Crime Agency 16,016 16,016 
			 AA National Policing Improvement Agency 29,780 29,780 
			 AB Youth Justice Board 3,000 0 
			 AC Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (3,740) 0 
			 AD Criminal Cases Review Commission 513 0 
			 AE Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner 110 0 
			   590,660 169,922

Frontiers: Security

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions her Department has had with the Irish government on the introduction of the e-borders system in Great Britain; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Liam Byrne: As outlined in our 'Securing the UK Border' strategy, March 2007, we are reviewing the rules and operation of the common travel area to explore how border security can be strengthened. The results of that review will be announced in due course.
	The e-Borders contract includes provision for the supply of data on passengers and crew travelling by air and sea between the Republic of Ireland and the UK.
	The governments of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland continue to work closely together at every level and keep each other informed of operational, policy and legislative issues, including the implementation of the e-Borders programme, which is a key part of the Government's plans for securing our borders.

Frontiers: Security

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she first informed the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland of plans to introduce an e-borders system.

Liam Byrne: The concept of e-Borders, in the context of proposals to obtain passenger and crew data in from carriers for screening by the border agencies in advance of travel, was first articulated in the Government's White Paper 'Secure Borders, Safe Haven' (CM 5387) published in February 2002.

Frontiers: Security

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has made to the Irish government on adopting an e-borders system compatible with the UK system.

Liam Byrne: We continue to work closely with the Government of the Republic of Ireland at ministerial and official level on the implementation of the e-Borders programme. Discussions are ongoing at all levels on sharing best practices and procedures to enable sufficiently compatible systems.

Identity Management Public Private Forum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will publish the report of the Crosby review of identity management.

Andy Burnham: I have been asked to reply.
	Sir James Crosby was appointed to establish and chair the Public Private Forum on Identity Management in July 2006 with a remit to produce a preliminary report to Ministers by Easter 2007. In March 2007 he discussed his preliminary conclusions with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer and was invited to work with the forum to produce a fuller report later in the year. The report is now being finalised. No date has been fixed for publication

Immigration: Skilled Workers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures she has put in place to ensure that immigrants applying for skilled jobs in the UK who are from countries where English is not the first language will not be discriminated against as a result of the English language test requirement.

Liam Byrne: The Government are introducing the new points based system (PBS) to ensure that decisions on migration are objective, transparent and fair. While we recognise that an English language test presents an additional requirement for migrants, this is an important element of the new PBS which will help facilitate the integration of skilled workers coming to live and work in the UK. We expect that majority of skilled workers coming to the UK should be able to meet this requirement. Nevertheless, we will closely monitor the implementation of this requirement, and prior to launch of the PBS we will carry out an equality impact assessment.

Police: Arrests

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by  (a) police and  (b) immigration officers for offences under the Immigration Act 1971 in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides aggregated data only on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, etc. Data are collected from 43 police forces in England and Wales. More detailed data about specific offences do not form part of this collection.
	The Border and Immigration Agency does not compile statistical records on which Act an arrest by an immigration officer pertains to.
	Published information is available on the total number of persons proceeded against, and found guilty, for offences under the Immigration Act 1971, in the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom Command Paper. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Prisons: Deportation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 169W, on prisons: deportation; when the Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency will next update the Home Affairs Committee on the position of foreign national prisoners in the immigration detention estate.

Liam Byrne: The chief executive wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 20 November in which she provided an update on the position of foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter is available in the Library of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bail

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what use the Police Service of Northern Ireland has made of street bail since the power was introduced; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is not readily available. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has, however, undertaken to collate figures over the last reporting year (2006-07) and I will write as soon as I receive their response.

Departmental Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff work in his Department's parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with  (a) parliamentary questions and  (b) correspondence from hon. Members and peers.

Shaun Woodward: There are four staff working in the parliamentary branch of my Department; one head of branch, one Parliamentary Clerk, one Committee Clerk and one Questions Clerk. The Questions Clerk deals solely with parliamentary questions. The Parliamentary Clerk spends approximately 35 per cent. of his time on PQ related matters.
	Correspondence from MPs and peers is handled through my and the Minister of State's private offices, rather than parliamentary section. Staff at all grades within the private offices deal with correspondence. However, there are two full-time Correspondence Clerks who mainly process correspondence from hon. Members, peers and the public.
	These figures are in addition to the policy and operational staff across the Department who are responsible for drafting answers to parliamentary questions and correspondence from MPs and peers, the numbers of which could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if he will break down his Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

Shaun Woodward: Near-cash and non-cash are essentially used as departmental expenditure limit (DEL) budgetary control concepts and are not specifically identified with voted resources in estimates. However, we have been able to break down net total resources for each section in the part II: subhead detail table of our main and winter supplementary estimates as follows:
	
		
			  000 
			2007-08 main estimates (net resource)  2007-08 winter supplementary (net resource) 
			   NIO section titles  Near cash  Non cash  Near cash  Non cash 
			   RfR 01 
			 A Central Administration 27,439 7,858 37,153 7,693 
			 B Ministers 3,284 1 2,707 3 
			 C Political Directorate 8,414 322 40,925 390 
			 D Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions 31,726 79 35,171 660 
			 E Forensic Science Northern Ireland 0 552 301 1,145 
			 F Criminal Justice 22,623 1,485 29,567 1,443 
			 G Compensation Agency 3,779 24,125 3,800 33,150 
			 H Policing and Security 16,647 222 16,001 319 
			 I PolicingNon Severance 2,260 0 2,100 0 
			 J Northern Ireland Prison Service 107,838 25,935 113,737 17,339 
			 K Youth Justice Agency 15,951 1,580 18,670 1,961 
			 L Bloody Sunday 1,100 0 4,049 5 
			 M Police (non-budget) 737,738 0 817,691 0 
			 N Police Pensions (non-budget) 55,271 0 55,271 0 
			 O Police Ombudsman (non-budget) 8,181 0 9,076 0 
			 P Probation Board for Northern Ireland (non-budget) 14,315 0 15,642 0 
			 Q Northern Ireland Policing Board (non-budget) 8,414 0 9,274 0 
			 R Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (non-budget) 1,561 0 1,746 0 
			 S Criminal Justice Inspectorate (non-budget) 1,500 0 1,306 0 
			  RfR 01 total 1,068,041 62,159 1,214,187 64,108 
			   
			   RfR02 
			 A Grants to the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund (non-budget) 10,334,000 0 10,334,000 0 
			 B European Institutions (Net) (non-budget) 1 0 1 0 
			  RfR 02 total 10,334,001 0 10,334,001 0 
			   
			  Total NIO 11,402,042 62,159 11,548,188 64,108 
			 RfR = request for resource

Departmental Redundancies

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding  (a) 30 June 2004,  (b) 30 June 2005 and  (c) 30 June 2006.

Shaun Woodward: There have been no redundancies in each of the 12 months preceding 30 June 2004, 30 June 2005 and 30 June 2006.

Members' Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and peers in each session of Parliament since 1997.

Shaun Woodward: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/peers correspondence. Information relating to 2007 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2006 was published on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.

Police Stations: Closures

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which police stations in Northern Ireland he expects to have closed by the end of 2009.

Paul Goggins: The current PSNI estate strategy identifies 61 police stations for potential closure and to date the Northern Ireland Policing Board have approved 20 closures and these stations are now closed.
	The PSNI are currently reviewing district police facilities with a view to developing a schedule of potential closures during 2009. It is anticipated that these reviews will be completed by March 2008.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 1473-74W, on prisoners: foreigners, what provision has been made for interpreting services for foreign prisoners by the Prison Service in each of the last 12 months; and what the cost was of such services.

Paul Goggins: Over the last 12 months interpreting services have been provided on an ad hoc basis based on individual prisoner need, largely through a telephone interpreting service. As part of the development of a specific strategy to meet the needs of foreign national prisoners in custody, the service issued a tender earlier in the year to secure interpreting and translation services and two service providers have now been appointed.
	Prison Service records do not currently provide a breakdown between translation and interpreting costs except for the costs of the telephone interpreting service.
	The following table shows the costs in each of the last 12 months for telephone interpreting and other interpreting and translation costs (i.e. written translations and face to face interpreters).
	
		
			   
			   Telephone interpreting  Written translation and face to face interpreting  Total 
			 December 2006  70 70 
			 January 2007 237 100 337 
			 February 2007 44 711 755 
			 March 2007 206 35 241 
			 April 2007 36  36 
			 May 2007 386 443 829 
			 June 2007  522 522 
			 July 2007 541 2,139 2,680 
			 August 2007 140 53 193 
			 September 2007 428  428 
			 October 2007 279 50 329 
			 November 2007  1,378 1,378 
			 Total 2,297 5,501 7,798

Prisons: Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1474W, on prisons: education, what the earliest anticipated date is that infrastructure could be in place to process those sentenced to imprisonment for public protection sentences in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Infrastructure is already in place within Northern Ireland prisons to undertake risk assessments, provide programmes and work directly with dangerous offenders to reduce their risk. The impact of the proposed legislation on the Prison Service will increase over time and additional infrastructure will be in place when it is required.

Rape: Victims

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in Northern Ireland have been victims of rape in each of the last 10 years, broken down by  (a) age and  (b) sex.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows the number of recorded rape offences (including attempted rape) from 1998-99, categorised by age group and gender.
	Until the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, males could not be designated as victims of rape.
	
		
			   Age under 18  Age 18-64  Age 65+  Age unknown  All ages 
			  1998-99  
			 Male  
			 Female 135 171 3 15 324 
			 Total 135 171 3 15 324 
			   
			  1999-2000  
			 Male  
			 Female 131 160 1 19 311 
			 Total 131 160 1 19 311 
			   
			  2000-01  
			 Male  
			 Female 95 125 1 11 232 
			 Total 95 125 1 11 232 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 Male  
			 Female 108 179 0 5 292 
			 Total 108 179 0 5 292 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Male  
			 Female 164 192 0 1 357 
			 Total 164 192 0 1 357 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Male 5 0 1 0 6 
			 Female 165 222 2 0 389 
			 Total 170 222 3 0 395 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Male 9 7 0 1 17 
			 Female 157 204 2 0 363 
			 Total 166 211 2 1 380 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Male 20 15 0 0 35 
			 Female 134 218 3 1 356 
			 Total 154 233 3 1 391 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Male 27 20 0 0 47 
			 Female 151 257 1 1 410 
			 Total 178 277 1 1 457

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Cosmetics

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department and its predecessor on  (a) make-up artists for media appearances and  (b) cosmetics for media appearances in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: Neither Communities and Local Government nor its predecessor department has incurred any expenditure on cosmetics and make up artists for media appearances, in the previous four years.

Council Tax: Renewable Energy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether ground source heat pumps are taken into account in the valuation of a property for council tax purposes by the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 897W.

Crossrail Line: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how many years the supplementary business rate on London businesses will remain in force to pay for Crossrail.

John Healey: The Mayor of London envisages levying a business rate supplement across the Greater London Authority area to service debt raised for Crossrail's construction, which will cease once the debt has been fully repaid. As with any authority proposing to levy a business rate supplement, the Mayor will be required to undertake a statutory consultation with local businesses and other stakeholders, setting out detailed plans for expenditure, including time scales.

Crossrail Line: Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her proposals to allow a supplementary business rate to be levied will apply to London; and whether local authorities will be able to charge the supplementary business rate on top of the Crossrail business rate levy.

John Healey: We intend that the power to raise local business rate supplements should apply across England but that only the highest tier authority in any area should be entitled to levy them. This means that, in London, the power to levy supplements will rest with the Greater London Authority.

Departmental Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which section in her Department is responsible for answering correspondence from hon. Members and peers; and how many staff work in that section.

Parmjit Dhanda: 12 staff work in the ministerial correspondence team in the ministerial group which is responsible for processing responses to correspondence from hon. Members and peers.

Fire Services: Cost Effectiveness

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what target for Gershon savings the Government has set for  (a) each stand alone fire authority and  (b) each fire authority which is part of a local authority (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of expenditure.

John Healey: holding answer 9 January 2008
	At the start of SR04, all Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) in England were set a national target to achieve 105 million gross cashable efficiency gains in the years 2005-06 to 2007-08. FRAs were not set individual authority efficiency targets. The evidence received by the Department to date indicates that FRAs are set to exceed this target and have already achieved approximately 132.9 million in cashable efficiency gains in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Based on forecast figures provided by FRAs, a further 44 million will be achieved in 2007-08.
	Cashable efficiency gains by authority type to the end of 2006-07 are as follows:
	
		
			
			 Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities 50,850,000 
			 Combined authorities 45,993,000 
			 London 20,813,000 
			 County authorities 15,287,000 
			 Total 132,900,000 
		
	
	FRAs in England are being set a national target of a further 110 million of net cashable efficiency gains for the CSR07 period.

Housing: Finance

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value was of discretionary housing payments made by each local authority in the last year for which figures are available; and what the value was of contributions made towards such payments by the Government.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 11 December 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The available information has been put in the Library.

Housing: Haringey

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when Haringey council and Homes for Haringey will be given their full funding under the Decent Homes Programme for improvement to housing stock; and what the reasons are for the time taken to provide the funding.

Iain Wright: The Department has been in discussion with Haringey council and Homes for Haringey since November 2007 over their bid for capital funding support to deliver a Decent Homes investment programme. The bid is a substantial one, and needs to be considered in detail. We aim to conclude our discussions and agree an overall funding total, and specific allocations for 2008-09 and 2009-10, for Haringey, by the end of January.

Housing: Overcrowding

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking on overcrowding in housing following the Tackling Overcrowding consultation.

Iain Wright: On 12 December my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning, announced an additional 15 million funding for overcrowding and launched an action plan setting out the Government's commitment to tackling overcrowdingcopies have been placed in the Library of the House. We have already announced an increase in the provision of new social housing including a year-on-year increase in the number of family homes, namely those with three or more bedrooms.

Housing: Renewable Energy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Valuation Office Agency has made of the number of domestic dwellings with  (a) wind turbines and  (b) solar panels.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 898W.

Land Use Planning Review

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the hon. Member for Truro and St Austell is expected to publish the conclusions of her review of land use and planning.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 666W.

Local Government Executive

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many referendums have taken place on whether to establish an elected mayor since 1997.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 685W.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much of the funding allocated to local authorities to deliver the Community Empowerment Action Plan is  (a) new and  (b) additional funding.

John Healey: All funding to local authorities to deliver the Community Empowerment Action Plan is new funding.

Ministerial Duties: West Midlands

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of his working week the Minister for the West Midlands spent carrying out his regional responsibilities in the latest period for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 10 December 2007
	My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Byrne) was appointed Regional Minister on 29 June 2007.
	Time spent on regional duties very much varies from week to week.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the receipts from supplementary business rates may be used for capital expenditure other than on infrastructure and revenue expenditure.

John Healey: The Government's White Paper Business rate supplements, published in October 2007, makes it clear that supplements should be used only to finance investment in economic development that would not otherwise have taken place. In addition to infrastructure projects, the White Paper gives business centres and retail development as examples of capital projects that could be supported by the additional resources raised through business rate supplements. Revenue from supplements could also be used for revenue projects such as increasing the security or improving the environment of a business district.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what factors she took into account when deciding whether to conduct a consultation on introducing supplementary business rates.

John Healey: There has been extensive public debate on reforms to business rates, including the introduction of supplements, with contributions from the business community, local and central Government as well as independent experts and academics. We also held discussions with stakeholders as part of developing the proposals in our White Paper 'Business rate supplements', published in October 2007. These included the Local Government Association, the Greater London Authority, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, the British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses, as well as representatives of individual businesses.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the business rate multiplier, including each of the different rates for small and large firms, was in each year since the introduction of the uniform business rate.

John Healey: Details of the national non-domestic rating multiplier since 1990-91 and of the small business non-domestic rating multiplier since its introduction in 2005-06 are in the following table:
	
		
			  Pence 
			   National non- domestic multiplier  Small business multiplier 
			 1990-91 34.8  
			 1991-92 38.6  
			 1992-93 40.2  
			 1993-94 41.6  
			 1994-95 42.3  
			 1995-96 43.2  
			 1996-97 44.9  
			 1997-98 45.8  
			 1998-99 47.4  
			 1999-2000 48.9  
			 2000-01 41.6  
			 2001-02 43.0  
			 2002-03 43.7  
			 2003-04 44.4  
			 2004-05 45.6  
			 2005-06 42.2 41.5 
			 2006-07 43.3 42.6 
			 2007-08 44.4 44.1 
			 2008-09 (1)46.2 (1)45.8 
			 (1) Provisional. 
		
	
	The small business multiplier is used to calculate the rate liability for those non-domestic properties in receipt of small business rate relief. For all other properties, the national non-domestic multiplier is used. At revaluations, the multipliers are adjusted to take account of changes in valuations.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which property attributes will form part of the Valuation Office Agency's multiple regression analysis in its proposed Automated Valuation Model for business rates.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1154W.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the rateable value of a business premises changes between statutory revaluations if there is a material change to the property.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1154W.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the rateable value of a business premises is re-assessed when it is  (a) sold and  (b) rented to a different body outside statutory revaluations.

John Healey: There is no automatic requirement for non-domestic properties to be revalued following a change in ownership or occupation. However, the rateable value of a property may be reassessed following a proposal to the valuation officer to have the value altered. Valuation officers may also alter the rateable value of non-domestic properties as part of their duty to maintain the rating lists.

Non-Domestic Rates: Fines

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which public authority retains the revenue from civic penalty notices issued for failure to provide information requested for non-domestic rating purposes; and what the average size of the penalty payment is.

John Healey: Any sums received from civil penalty notices issued for failure to provide information requested by a valuation officer for non-domestic rating purposes must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
	The average penalty payment from 1 April 2005 to 31 December 2007 was 311.

Non-Domestic Rates: Tax Allowances

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to review business rate relief for  (a) previously developed and  (b) derelict land.

John Healey: Where previously developed or derelict land constitutes a hereditament for the purposes of non-domestic rates, the ratepayer may be entitled to relief under the existing arrangements. As stated in the White Paper Business rate supplements, published in October 2007, the Government have concluded their review of business rates reliefs and exemptions following the Lyons Inquiry recommendation to conduct such a review.

Planning Permission: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the de minimis threshold will be for a residential planning application to incur the new standard planning charge.

Iain Wright: The Government have made it clear that subject to low de minimis thresholds, residential and commercial development will be liable to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Consultation on the draft regulations setting out the details of the CIL including any proposals on de minimis thresholds will be undertaken later this year.

Public Houses: Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency collates information on  (a) pub quizzes,  (b) darts and  (c) pool tables when valuing licensed premises for business rates purposes.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency does not collate this information.

Social Security Benefits: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what local area agreements have been agreed on targets for the number of  (a) benefit awards and  (b) unclaimed benefits; and with which local authorities.

John Healey: Local area agreements (LAAs) have been agreed with all top tier local authorities, with the exception of the Isles of Scilly. Since 21 pilots were launched in October 2004, 104 of these agreements have targets relating to benefit awards and unclaimed benefits. These are listed in the following list.
	 Local area agreements with benefit targets
	Pilots
	Barnsley;
	Bradford;
	Brighton and Hove;
	Coventry;
	Derbyshire;
	Devon;
	Doncaster;
	Dorset;
	Gateshead;
	Greenwich;
	Hammersmith and Fulham;
	Kent;
	Peterborough;
	Sheffield;
	Suffolk;
	Telford and Wrekin;
	Wigan;
	Wolverhampton.
	Round 2
	Birmingham;
	Leeds;
	Leicester;
	Blackburn with Darwen;
	Manchester;
	Norfolk;
	Buckinghamshire;
	Northamptonshire;
	Northumberland;
	Camden;
	Nottingham;
	Nottinghamshire;
	Cornwall;
	Oldham;
	Redbridge;
	Croydon;
	Somerset;
	South Tyneside;
	Enfield;
	Stoke;
	Sunderland;
	Essex;
	Surrey;
	Swindon;
	Hounslow;
	Brent;
	Durham;
	Kingston upon Thames;
	Kensington and Chelsea;
	Islington;
	Kirklees;
	Durham;
	Hartlepool;
	Lancashire;
	Isle of Wight;
	West Sussex;
	Shropshire;
	Stockport;
	Wirral.
	Round 3
	Barnet;
	Bath and NE Somerset;
	Bournemouth;
	Bracknell Forest;
	Bristol;
	Bromley;
	Bury;
	Calderdale;
	City;
	Cumbria;
	Hackney;
	Hull;
	Liverpool;
	Merton;
	Middlesbrough;
	Newcastle;
	Newham;
	NE Lincolnshire;
	North Somerset;
	North Tyneside;
	North Yorkshire;
	Plymouth;
	Richmond upon Thames;
	Rochdale
	Salford;
	Sefton;
	Solihull;
	Southwark;
	Staffordshire;
	Tameside;
	Torbay;
	Trafford;
	Wandsworth;
	Warwickshire;
	Wiltshire;
	York;
	Dudley;
	Ealing;
	Havering;
	Hillingdon;
	Lambeth;
	Reading;
	South Gloucestershire;
	Southampton;
	Thurrock;
	Halton;
	Haringey.

Valuation Office: Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there is  (a) a termination date and  (b) an option to terminate in the contract between Cole Layer Trumble and Capgemini, for the consultancy services that it provides to assist the ongoing work of the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1162W.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Better Regulation Executive

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he last met officials of the Better Regulation Executive to discuss the reduction of regulatory burdens on industry.

Patrick McFadden: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has been in regular contact with his officials from the Better Regulation Executive ever since the department's creation in the summer of 2007, as he has been with other areas of the department.

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the financial effect on UK industry of changes in the level of the burden of regulation in each year since 2005;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the costs of business of the Government's proposed 25 per cent. reduction in administrative burdens.

Patrick McFadden: In May 2005 the Government embarked on a programme to reduce the administrative burden of regulationthe direct cost to businesses and third sector organisations of filling in forms, dealing with inspections and providing statutory information to third partiesby a net 25 per cent. by 2010. Simplification plans published in December 2007 demonstrated that Government have identified annual savings of 3.5 billion by 2010 (26 per cent. of the May 2005 baseline) with 800 million (6 per cent. of the baseline) already delivered.
	Further details have been provided in the following table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Net administrative burden reduction ( million) 
			 2005-06 265 
			 2006-07 647 
			 2007-08 1,474 
			 2008-09 2,505 
			 2009-10 3,485 
		
	
	The Government have also announced gross reductions in the policy costs that arise from complying with regulations, such as paying licence fees or purchasing new equipment. Details of the annual reductions delivered to date, and forecast to May 2010, have been provided in the following table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Policy savings ( million) 
			 2005-06 102 
			 2006-07 469 
			 2007-08 807 
			 2008-09 1,246 
			 2009-10 1,364 
		
	
	More information can be found at:
	http://bre.berr.gov.uk/regulation/reform/simplifying/plans.asp

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in developing methods to measure the impact of regulatory burden reduction in those areas identified by the National Audit Office as non-quantified irritation factors.

Patrick McFadden: The Government regularly consult with business and others on the areas of regulation they believe are most burdensome and key 'irritants'. Departmental simplification plans published in December 2007 and December 2006 include details of regulations identified as such, and how these will be addressed.
	BERR consults stakeholders both formally and informally in the development of policy to ensure their concerns, including regulatory irritants, are taken into account.
	In addition, representatives of business, consumer and employee organisations participate in the oversight of BERR's better regulation programme as well as contributing their views to the individual projects which make up our simplification plan. This helps to ensure that we are addressing those issues that are of most concern to our stakeholders.

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made by the Better Regulation Executive in working with industry to reduce regulatory burdens.

Patrick McFadden: To ensure the Better Regulation Executive understands the regulatory issues facings those in the private, public and third sectors a visits programme has been established where staff at all levels see first hand how those being regulated are impacted by regulation and seek their ideas for change.
	The Better Regulation Executive also created a website
	(www.betterregulation.gov.uk)
	to enable those in the; private, public or third sectors to submit ideas on how regulations, or the guidance surrounding them, could be improved. Both ideas submitted and Governments responses are posted online within 90 days.
	The administrative burdens reduction programme, the drive to reduce data burdens on the public sector front line, improving inspection and enforcement and other better regulation initiatives are the result of close working between the Better Regulation Executive, Government departments, regulators and those being regulated. An update on progress on better regulation can be found at:
	http://bre.berr.gov.uk/regulation/reform/simplifying/plans.asp

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses his Department has consulted to identify areas for potential regulatory burden reduction in the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: BERR conducts extensive formal and informal consultation of business across the full range of its activities.
	Ministers and officials regularly meet a wide range of individual businesses and business representative organisations and the Department uses a range of consultation techniquesincluding business surveys and advisory groups, in addition to formal consultationsto gather the views of business including on better regulation.
	Hundreds of businesses and business organisations have contributed their views in these ways to the Department in the last 12 months.

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to determine the effects of reductions in regulatory burdens on businesses of all sizes;
	(2)  by what means his Department assesses the effectiveness of reductions in regulatory burdens on businesses arising from initiatives by Government.

Patrick McFadden: In May 2007 Government introduced the revised impact assessment process that aims to improve clarity and transparency of new regulations, including new requirements to summarise both the rationale for Government intervention and evidence supporting the final proposal. This has increased the focus on both the costs and benefits associated with regulation, with the strengthened ministerial declaration used to bolster the quality of the analysis further supported by improved arrangements within departments.
	The revised impact assessment process has also placed greater weight on post implementation reviews, which are used to establish whether implemented regulations are having the intended effect and whether they are implementing policy objectives efficiently.
	The Small Firm Impact Test (SFIT) is also a key element of this revised process. The SFIT enables policy makers to consider the impact that future policy may have on small business, and encourages examining at the earliest stages of policy design whether small businesses can be given a complete or partial exemption from new rules. Government are committed to creating new regulation only where it is needed, and that annual costs to micro, small and medium size businesses are quantified.

Business: Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  by what mechanisms his Department measures the effectiveness of the means by which businesses are made aware of changes to regulation;
	(2)  what steps his Department is considering to improve the means by which businesses are  (a) made aware of and  (b) advised on matters relating to changes in regulation.

Patrick McFadden: On the 7 of January Government published a consultation document on a Code of Practice on Good Guidance on Regulation. The Code outlines golden rules of good guidance which set the standards businesses and third sector organisations can expect from guidance on regulations. The consultation will run until the 31 of March to give businesses and others time to give their views on what the Code should contain.
	To reduce the burden of changing regulations for business, the majority of changes affecting business come into force on two dates (Common Commencement Dates). In October 2007 for the first time, simple, easy to understand guidance was produced with the help of business to support the changes taking effect and communicated to businesses via the Business Link website (www.businesslink.gov.uk) and business and professional organisations. Business can also sign up on the Business Link website for email alerts informing them of forthcoming regulations.
	In addition, the Department publishes on its website an annual statement of forthcoming legislation where we provide details of all legislation for which BERR is responsible due to enter into force in the next 12 months.
	htttp://www.berr.gov.uk/bbf/better-regulation/forthcoming-leg/page24668.html

Farmers: Bankruptcy

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many farmers in Copeland have declared bankruptcy over the last 20 years.

Patrick McFadden: The closest available estimates for bankruptcies among farmers are the numbers of bankruptcy orders made under the category agriculture and horticulture according to the Insolvency Trade Classification (ITC). The following table provides the numbers of such cases for England and Wales as a whole, which are available from 1990 onwards.
	The ITC is not consistent with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), which is used to classify businesses held on the Companies Register by Companies House, and elsewhere. Additionally, a bankruptcy order would only cover those business insolvencies among sole traders (and some partnerships) not among registered companies, which would be the subject of a company liquidation. It is not, therefore, possible to provide estimates of the proportions of farmers becoming bankrupt. Bankruptcy statistics for the period covered are classified regionally according to the locations and areas of responsibility of Official Receivers' (ORs') offices, each of which covers a number of courts having insolvency jurisdiction, and are not directly comparable with administrative geographies, such as government office regions or districts. Additionally, statistics broken down by both detailed industry and regionally are not readily available.
	
		
			  Bankruptcies in England and Wales in the Agriculture sector, January 1990 to September 2006 
			 1990 198 
			 1991 266 
			 1992 313 
			 1993 277 
			 1994 231 
			 1995 218 
			 1996 168 
			 1997 155 
			 1998 157 
			 1999 183 
			 2000 173 
			 2001 183 
			 2002 132 
			 2003 151 
			 2004 204 
			 2005 195 
			 2006(1) 129 
			 1 Up to September. Figures from October 2006 are not available due to development work to update the classification to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2003. These will be available for new cases from July 2007.  Note: Figures are not available prior to January 1990.

Fisheries: Bankruptcy

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of commercial fishermen in  (a) England,  (b) the north-west and  (c) Copeland have been declared bankrupt over the last 20 years.

Patrick McFadden: The closest available estimates for bankruptcies among fishermen are the numbers of trader bankruptcy orders made under the category forestry and fishing according to the Insolvency Trade Classification (ITC). The following table provides the numbers of such cases for England and Wales as a whole, which are available from 1992 through to September 2006.
	The ITC is not consistent with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), which is used to classify businesses held on the Companies Register by Companies House, and elsewhere. Additionally, a bankruptcy order would, only cover those business insolvencies among sole traders (and some partnerships) not among registered companies, which would be the subject of a company liquidation. It is not, therefore, possible to provide estimates of the proportions of fishermen becoming bankrupt. Bankruptcy statistics for the period covered are classified regionally according to the locations and areas of responsibility of official receivers' (ORs') offices, each of which covers a number of courts having insolvency jurisdiction, and are not directly comparable with administrative geographies, such as government office regions or districts. Additionally, statistics broken down by both detailed industry and regionally are not readily available.
	
		
			  Bankruptcies in England and Wales in the Forestry and Fishing sector, January 1992 to September 2006 
			 1992 98 
			 1993 71 
			 1994 72 
			 1995 52 
			 1996 91 
			 1997 75 
			 1998 65 
			 1999 47 
			 2000 76 
			 2001 68 
			 2002 88 
			 2003 60 
			 2004 51 
			 2005 43 
			 2006(1) 37 
			 (1) Up to September. Figures from October 2006 are not available due to development work to update the classification to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2003. These will be available for new cases from July 2007.  Note: Reliable figures are not available prior to 1992.

Post Offices: Closures

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what effect the Review of the Postal Services Sector announced in his written ministerial statement of 17 December will have on the most recently announced round of post office closures currently being consulted upon; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Review of the Postal Services Sector will look at developments in the mails market. It has not been set up to look at the future of the post office network or the current round of consultations on post office closures. The Government have already agreed a funding package of some 1.7 billion to support the post office network up to 2011.

Post Offices: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what the staffing establishment was at the main post office in Church Street, Peterborough, on 31 December  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006;
	(2)  how many people used the main post office at Church Street, Peterborough, on average per day in each year since 2001;
	(3)  how many branch post offices there were operating within  (a) two,  (b) three and  (c) four miles of the main post office at Church Street, Peterborough as at 30 November 2007.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 9 January 2008
	This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member. I will place copies of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Regional Development Agencies: South East Region

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of whether the South East of England Regional Development Agency offers value for money.

Stephen Timms: SEEDA's performance, like that of other RDAs, is assessed in a number of ways:
	Performance against targets: In all except three cases SEEDA has met or exceeded the thirty-four targets set over the last five years.
	Independent Performance Assessment: The NAO assessment last year found that SEEDA was performing strongly. This judgement was based on performance on: ambition; prioritisation; capacity; performance management; and achievement (report available on www.nao.org.uk.)
	Regional Economic Strategy: SEEDA's review of the Strategy in 2006 and subsequent development of the RES action plan has demonstrated its strengths in achieving wide regional backing for the Strategy and its delivery.
	Evaluation: SEEDA and other RDAs have a major programme of evaluation of the impact of their spending. Results from this will be available later this year.

Skilled Workers: English Language

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the UK restaurant trade of skilled chefs from abroad needing to pass the English language test requirement.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have not yet made a full assessment of the likely effect on the UK restaurant trade of skilled chefs from abroad needing to pass the English language test requirement. Full impact assessments for each tier of the PBS will be published in due course.

Small Businesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small to medium sized businesses there were in each region of the UK in each of the last 20 years.

Stephen Timms: The number of small to medium sized businesses in each region of the UK is shown for 1991, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005. BERR's small and medium sized enterprise statistics were only published to the regional level in these years. Regional data for 2007 will be available by the end of 2008.
	The number of small to medium sized businesses increased in all regions between 1997 and 2005. Overall, the number of small to medium sized businesses in the UK increased by 635,000 (17 per cent.), from 3,701,070 to 4,336,070 between 1997 and 2005.
	
		
			  Number of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, by region 
			   1997( 1)  1998  1999  2001  2003  2005  Percentage change 1997-2005 
			 UK(2) 3,701,070 3,651,230 3,670,210 3,739,590 4,015,310 4,336,070 17 
			 
			 North East 96,915 98,910 91,045 96,790 98,760 108,500 12 
			 North West 383,260 355,465 355,470 349,095 386,125 436,655 14 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 291,060 269,395 258,665 255,740 277,865 313,335 8 
			 East Midlands 239,875 228,695 234,435 235,890 263,145 283,005 18 
			 West Midlands 306,095 286,330 288,080 289,320 314,830 352,870 15 
			 East of England 378,335 378,550 351,595 385,930 430,315 455,060 20 
			 London 566,300 566,850 664,455 672,940 640,880 674,615 19 
			 South East 612,130 618,575 604,985 624,470 681,440 728,595 19 
			 South West 363,100 370,790 360,075 348,760 379,310 417,125 15 
			 Wales 157,890 153,115 143,925 154,295 172,160 175,280 11 
			 Scotland 243,500 246,600 232,975 236,595 266,570 276,215 13 
			 Northern Ireland 84,430 83,230 84,505 89,745 103,905 114,830 36 
			 (1) Regional data for 1997 and 1998 are not directly comparable to other years because they include employment agencies. (2) UK totals may not equal the sum of the regional figures. This is due to rounding, and in the years 1997 and 1998 because employment agencies were excluded for the UK, but not at the regional level.  Source: BERR Small and Medium sized Enterprise Statistics for the UK and Regions, 1997-2006 available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/index.htm

HEALTH

Broadmoor Hospital

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attacks on staff were recorded at Broadmoor Hospital in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally. However, to improve consistency in reporting incidents by the high secure hospitals, a new national reporting policy which includes information on assaults was introduced in January 2007, and this information is reviewed regularly by a dedicated performance manager for each hospital.

Carers

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) financial support and  (b) advice on rights is available to carers who (i) live and (ii) work in (A) Leyton and Wanstead constituency, (B) Redbridge and (C) Waltham Forest.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

Drugs: Misuse

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the report into the findings of the National Treatment Agency survey into drug treatment projects.

Dawn Primarolo: We have received the report from the survey of drug treatment prescribing services, independently undertaken by the Central Office of Information, on behalf of the Department and National Treatment Agency (NTA) for substance misuse. The NTA published the results from the report on 14 December 2007.
	The results provide a robust representation of treatment services.
	The results of the survey were published alongside a detailed statement from the Clinical Guidelines on Drug Misuse and Dependence Update 2007 Working Group. The chair of the working group summarised the message of the statement as follows:
	The objective in prescribing is to give the patient the right medication at a dose that produces the greatest therapeutic benefit, without incurring unnecessary risk of harm. It is inappropriate for medications to be used as a reward, or to be withheld, or dose reduced solely as a punishment or sanction. Our new guidelines clarify this beyond doubt.
	A full copy of the Audit of Prescribing Practitioners Summary Report has been placed in the Library.

Henderson Hospital: Closures

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had on the planned closure of the Henderson Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State for Health, (Alan Johnson) has had no discussions with the local national health service regarding the proposed closure of the Henderson Hospital, as this is a matter for the local NHS.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Care Services the hon. Member for Bury, South (Mr. Lewis) spoke to Peter Houghton, Chief Executive of South West London and St George's Mental Health National Health Service Trust by telephone regarding the Trust's proposals to close the Henderson Hospital on 17 December 2007.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Care Services also met with clinicians from Henderson Hospital, the National Clinical Director for Mental Health, managers from South West London, and St. George's Mental Health National Health Service Trust, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) and the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) on 8 January 2008 to discuss this issue.

Mental Health

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the ability of patients with  (a) mental illness and  (b) learning difficulties to access (i) NHS emergency treatment and (ii) respite care; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the ability of carers of patients with  (a) mental illness and  (b) learning difficulties to access NHS emergency treatment.

Ivan Lewis: In 2003 we published guidance entitled Improving the Management of Patients with Mental Ill Health in Emergency Care. This provides practical support and guidance for those working in accident and emergency departments, mental health trusts and ambulance trusts to help improve the care of patients with mental illness when they access emergency care. We have not published similar guidance for people with learning disabilities.
	The Carers Grant, which we introduced in 1999, provides financial support for carers to have breaks and to provide respite care. The Grant, which is worth 185 million in 2007-08 and 224 million in 2008-09, includes 25 million from which councils can provide emergency cover for carers. We have also issued guidance to councils about using this additional funding. We want to ensure that each council is able to provide short-term cover for carers in emergency situations, and that these monies are available for carers of people with mental illness, learning disabilities and all other conditions.

Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1318W, on mental health and employment: meeting the challenge, how much of the 173 million will be spent in each year to 2010-12.

Ivan Lewis: The comprehensive spending review (CSR) covers the period to 2010-11. Additional investment in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, identified in the CSR 2007-10 will be in excess of 300 million, with an investment of 33 million in 2008-09, 103 million in 2009-10, rising to 173 million by 2010-11.

Mental Health Services: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many successful appeals against involuntary detention for treatment there were in each London mental health trust in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only by means of a manual sift of some 10,000 files, incurring disproportionate cost.
	The Mental Health Review Tribunal considers whether people should continue to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The Annual Report of the MHRT records that, in 2005-06 it received almost 22,000 applications and referrals of which 57 per cent. progressed to a substantive hearing. Of those applications 11 per cent. resulted in an order for discharge from the relevant provision of the Act.
	A new database is being built for the Tribunal and is estimated to be live from summer 2008.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 655W, on mental health services: hospital beds, how many community psychiatric nurses were practising in the NHS in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The number of qualified nursing staff in the community psychiatry area of work in England is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: qualified nursing staff in the community psychiatry area of work in England 
			  As at September  England 
			 1997 9,736 
			 1998 10,231 
			 1999 10,552 
			 2000 11,080 
			 2001 12,224 
			 2002 12,292 
			 2003 13,173 
			 2004 14,909 
			 2005 15,844 
			 2006(1) 17,076 
			 (1 )More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full-time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Note:  Workforce planning is a matter for local NHS organisations to deal with. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community. The number of community psychiatric nurses has increased by 75 per cent. since 1997.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Non- Medical Workforce Census.

Overcrowding: Health Hazards

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effects of overcrowding in housing on health;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to ensure that the effects of overcrowding on health are reflected in the development of standards for housing.

Iain Wright: holding answer 18 December 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister undertook a review of the evidence and literature looking at the impact of overcrowding on health and education in 2004 (The Impact of Overcrowding on Health and Education: A Review of the Evidence and Literature (Housing Research Summary Number 210, 2004) copies of which are available on :
	www.communities.gov.uk/housing.
	The published summary indicates that there is a small relationship between overcrowding and aspects of physical health of both children and adults. Additionally, evidence suggests that overcrowding in childhood affects aspects of adult health. The evidence on any relationship between overcrowding and mental health (children and adults) is inconclusive.
	The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and its Operating Guidance is an assessment tool for local authorities to determine risks arising from a range of potential hazards (including overcrowding) across all tenures and to take appropriate enforcement action through Environmental Health Officers. The HHSRS was introduced in April 2006.
	The HHSRS is evidence-based. It is supported by extensive reviews of the literature and by detailed analysis of statistical data on the impact of housing conditions on health.

Pathology: Children

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that sufficient pathologists are trained to carry out specialist examinations on deceased children; (2) how many such pathologists are available in each Government Office region; and (3) if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will take steps to assist coroners in the South West in locating child pathologists to carry out specialist examinations on deceased children for the purposes of an inquest.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has worked closely with the Royal College of Pathologists to increase the number of paediatric pathologists in the national health service. Funding has been available for a Conversion Fellowship scheme to enable existing pathology consultants to retrain as paediatric pathologists to increase numbers in the short-term and this was vigorously promoted by the Royal College of Pathologists. However, the Conversion Fellowships were not taken up.
	However the number of trainee paediatric pathologists has risen slightly in the last few years. The Royal College of Pathologists' Paediatric Pathology Specialist Advisory Committee anticipates that any difficulties will be largely resolved as the extra trainees become qualified in the next year or two and long-term service needs will be met. Paediatric pathology will remain a specialised service and ways of working in the specialty are changing to reflect this. Paediatric pathology is developing in a smaller number of specialist centres to focus resources where there will be adequate expertise and support. We understand that coroners, including in the South West, are aware of where paediatric pathologists are currently located and are able to contact them. We have asked officials from the Department to discuss with their counterparts at the Ministry of Justice the information currently provided to coroners about the availability of paediatric pathologists.
	The Department does not collect data centrally about the number of paediatric pathologists in England. 2007 data from the Royal College of Pathologists show a total of 40 paediatric/perinatal pathology posts in England.

Personality Disorders

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people in England who have a severe personality disorder; how many are receiving treatment; what treatments are available and in how many centres; and what estimate he has made of the effectiveness of treatments;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of those with severe personality disorder that are a danger  (a) to themselves and  (b) to others.

Ivan Lewis: Personality disorders (PDs) are common conditions, although there is a considerable variation in severity, and in the degree of distress and dysfunction caused. The Department does not hold the requested information centrally, but research studies currently indicate a prevalence of 10 to 13 per cent. of the adult population in the community. The incidence in the sentenced prison population is around 64 per cent. for men and 50 per cent. for women. Estimates of the prevalence of personality disorders in psychiatric hospital populations vary between 36 to 67 per cent.
	The treatment of patients with personality disorders is increasing through the development of new PD services in line with the implementation of Managing Dangerous Offenders with a Severe Personality Disorder (1999), Personality Disorder; No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion (2004) and the Mental Health Act 2007. The development of effective services for those most a risk to the public is being piloted through the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) programme which is a joint venture between the Department and the Ministry of Justice.
	The number of people in England with a severe PD who are a significant risk to other people is currently estimated as being between 3,000-5,000. The DSPD programme provides assessment, treatment and management in conditions of high and medium security as well as in community residential and outreach services.
	In respect of all those people with a PD who are no risk to others it is intended that the provision of treatment and support for this patient population will be through the growth of PD appropriate services within mainstream mental health services. Services for this patient group have been piloted and evaluated in each region of England through the Department's PD programme and are now devolved to the national health service for wider development by primary care trusts at a local level. While there is no accurate estimate of the numbers of patients overall treated in the NHS over 1,500 patients with PD have been treated in the non forensic PD pilot services to date.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was raised from prescription charges in 2006-07;
	(2)  what the total cost was of collecting prescription charges in the last financial year.

Dawn Primarolo: As set out in Department of Health Resource Accounts 2006-07, published by The Stationary Office, on 11 October 2007, for the period April 2006 to March 2007, the revenue raised from prescription charges collected by pharmacists, appliance contractors and from prescription prepayment certificate fees was 411.7 million. This figure excludes prescription charges collected by dispensing doctors, which is not collected centrally, but remains with primary care trusts. A copy of the Resource Accounts is available in the Library.
	Pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors collect the prescription charge as part of the dispensing process. They are paid a fee for the dispensing process irrespective of whether a charge is collected. It is not possible to determine separately the cost of collecting prescription charges.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of civilians killed by the recent bombing at Nabo Aka in Afghanistan.

Meg Munn: The Government are not aware of any civilian casualties resulting from a bombing at Nabo Aka.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) the British Government,  (b) the British army and  (c) coalition forces in Afghanistan have had with the Taliban.

Meg Munn: The UK supports President Karzai's efforts to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream, providing they renounce violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution. In this context we have provided funds for the Afghan reconciliation programme, Programme Takhim-e-Solh. We support Afghan-led efforts to reach out to Taliban elements who no longer want to continue their armed opposition, in order to weaken the insurgency and isolate its leadership. We will continue to support President Karzai and his government in their efforts to reconcile all parties to Afghanistan's democratic constitution.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition the Government uses of the Taliban.

Meg Munn: Taliban is an umbrella term used for an increasingly splintered group of anti-government elements in Afghanistan. This includes warlords, those in the narcotics trade and jihadi fighters. The anti-government insurgency also includes Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and the Haqqani network. It is associated with, but separate from, members of Al Qa'eda and the extremist tribesmen in Pakistan (the so-called Pakistan Taliban).

Afghanistan: Taliban

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings have taken place in  (a) Helmand Province and  (b) Afghanistan in the last 12 months between British representatives and (i) current, (ii) former and (iii) suspected Taliban insurgents.

Meg Munn: Our embassy in Kabul and the UK-led provincial reconstruction team in Lashkar Gah have made a wide range of contacts within the Afghanistan government and people in public life, some of whom will have held positions under the former Taliban regime. Data on these contacts are not collated in a form to enable the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to respond to the hon. Member's question.
	The UK position on reconciliation remains unchanged. We support President Karzai' efforts to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream, providing they renounce violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution.

Asylum: Finance

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the European Refugee Fund was spent in each member state in each year since 2000; and on what types of projects.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Commission has not yet published the actual spend for each member state in respect of the European Refugee Fund as many annual programmes are still in the process of being closed by the Commission.
	The first phase of the European Refugee Fund ran from 2000 to 2004. The second phase, which runs from 2005 to 2007, is under way. Projects for both phases have been funded for eligible actions which relate to reception, integration and voluntary repatriation of specified target groups. These include those with full refugee status or subsidiary forms of humanitarian protection, and those who have applied for this.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date he was formally consulted by the Secretary of State for Defence on the request by the US to use RAF Menwith Hill as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence System; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I was formally consulted by my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary on 10 July 2007 over the decision to agree to the request by the US to use Menwith Hill as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence System.

Colombia: Armed Forces

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to encourage the Colombian Government to investigate alleged murders of civilians by the Colombian army.

Meg Munn: Whilst the majority of murders in Colombia are committed by illegal armed groups, we regularly call on the Colombian Government, privately and in public, to ensure procedures are in place to fully investigate alleged abuses against civilians by the Colombian army. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dr. Howells, did so with the Colombian Defence Minister and Vice President during their visits to the UK last year, and he repeated these concerns when visiting Colombia in November 2007. We have been impressed at the Colombian government's commitment to tackling this problem, but we recognise that more needs to be done. This is why the UK continues to provide the Colombian armed forces with human rights training and practical advice on military justice reformwhich includes forging a closer working relationship between the Colombian Attorney General's Office and the Colombian armed forcesso to promote their adherence to international humanitarian law.

Committee of Permanent Representatives

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people form the UK's  (a) Committee of Permanent Representatives I and  (b) Committee of Permanent Representatives II to the EU Council.

Jim Murphy: The UK is represented by the Deputy Permanent Representative in the Committee of Permanent Representatives I and the Permanent Representative in the Committee of Permanent Representatives II.

EC Law

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of primary legislation passed between 3 May 1997 and 27 June 2007 originated in  (a) EU regulations,  (b) EU directives and  (c) EU decisions.

Jim Murphy: The information requested by the hon. Member is not held centrally.

English Language

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on English language classes for staff in the last year for which figures are available.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not spend anything on English language training for staff in the UK. Overseas, most locally recruited jobs require prior working knowledge of English. In certain circumstances posts may have contributed from their own budgets to the cost of English tuition for junior staff (e.g. drivers); but no central record is kept of this expenditure and to collate the figures would incur disproportionate cost.

European Union

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) polling in the UK on EU-related issues and  (b) publications and advertising relating to the EU in each of the last 11 years.

Jim Murphy: The spend in each financial year from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) EU Directorate budget codes related to EU communications in the UK are in the following table.
	
		
			   
			 1997-98 (1)13,500 
			 1998-99 n/a 
			 1999-2000 102,574 
			 2000-01 258,000 
			 2001-02 246,819 
			 2002-03 167,891 
			 2003-04 604,730 
			 2004-05 400,499 
			 2005-06(2) 274,274 
			 2006-07 200,00 
			 April to December 2007 43,320 
			 n/a= Not available.(  1 )Excluding EU presidency EU communications. Figures not available.  (2 )Plus 434,233 EU presidency public diplomacy. 
		
	
	In line with the FCO's public service agreement, FCO spending on EU communications covers a wide range of projects to raise awareness and debate on EU issues, such as: the europe.gov.uk website, publications and public events on EU issues.
	In terms of polling in the UK on EU-related issues, the FCO commissioned ICM in June 2004 to test the clarity of its Guide to the EU before publication at a cost of approximately 10,000.

Gibraltar: EU Action

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the EU's position on Gibraltar in relation to the proposed Race Directive.

Jim Murphy: While the UK is the member state responsible for Gibraltar within the European Union, the government of Gibraltar is responsible for implementing European legislation within Gibraltar. The Race Directive (2000/43 EC) has been transposed by the government of Gibraltar through Gibraltar's Equal Opportunities Act 2006 which came into force on 1 March 2007.

International Cooperation: Mining

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to assist other governments to make mining practices safer and to reduce numbers of preventable accidents since 1997.

Anne McGuire: holding answer  13 December 2007
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The principal way in which the UK has assisted other Governments to make mining practices safer has, since 2004, been through its membership of the European Commission's Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work's Standing Working Party (SWP) for the Mining and other Extractive Industries. Before 2004 this was done through the SWP's predecessor, the Safety and Health Commission for the Mining and Other Extractive Industries (SHCMOEI). The UK Government have been represented on these bodies by HM Chief Inspector of Mines.
	Since the expansion of the European Union (EU) in 2004, one of the specific tasks of the SWP has been the promotion of the exchange of information with EU Member States on aspects of health and safety in mining. The mandate of the SWP has recently been expanded to include the provision of advice to the EC on cooperation with other countries, in particular with China, in respect to health and safety in the mining and the extractive industries sector.

Kenya: Overseas Residence

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British ex-patriates are living in Kenya; and what provisional plans the Government have to repatriate them.

Meg Munn: There are currently approximately 11,500 British citizens registered with our High Commission in Nairobi.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has emergency and contingency plans for Kenya, which are constantly being reviewed and updated to ensure preparedness for a range of eventualities.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 28 November, from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton, regarding Mrs H. Malik.

David Miliband: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 8 January.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter, dated 21 November, from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton, regarding Mr I. Rigby.

David Miliband: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 20 December 2007.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Pakistan.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement on Pakistan and Kenya made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the House on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 21-24.
	The world has been shocked and outraged by Ms Bhutto's tragic assassination on 27 December 2007. This senseless attack must not be allowed to undermine the move towards democracy in Pakistan. The priority now must be to ensure the democratic process remains on track.

Palestinians: EU aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure that EU aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories is used for legal and legitimate purposes.

Meg Munn: The European Commission takes fiduciary risk management very seriously. Most projects are managed internally and therefore the European Commission is able to ensure that it has complete control over all funds. The EU also funds the UN Refugee and Works Agency, which delivers support to Palestinians in Gaza, this funding is managed by strict UN controls. Other EU assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories is provided through the EU's Temporary International Mechanism. This provides allowances for public sector workers, including teachers, and for the poorest Palestinians. It also pays for basic services such as healthcare and provides fuel for electricity supplies. The Temporary International Mechanism is organised so that funds pass directly to beneficiaries and suppliers of goods and services. Either the World Bank or the European Commission approves all expenditure and all Palestinians paid under the Temporary International Mechanism are vetted against five different internationally recognised terrorist lists.

Palestinians: EU Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the reported seizure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of potassium nitrate disguised in sugar bags that were marked as being part of the humanitarian aid provided by the European Union.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this with his EU counterparts. The UK welcomes the European Commission's statement on this issue on 30 December 2007 that:
	Based on the information received, it appears that these bags cannot be confused with any kind of European Union humanitarian aid. We would consider it an isolated criminal act and we condemn it.
	The EU distributes its food aid through United Nations agencies, rather than directly, and does not export any sugar to Gaza.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies: Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of the proportion of children known to be eligible for free school meals in each academy and its predecessor school for each year from 2000-01 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in each open academy and in their predecessor school(s) is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage FSM for whole school 
			  School name  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  The Business Academy Bexley   41.9 37.0 38.2 38.5 39.2 
			 Abbey Primary School 32.1 37.8 38.2 44.5
			 Southlake Primary School 46.9 42.3 44.1 40.7
			 Thamesmead Community College 48.8 46.1  
			  Greig City Academy   43.5 46.5 44.6 37.7 37.4 
			 St. David and St. Katharine CofE Secondary School 32.1 40.5  
			  Unity City Academy   49.1 49.6 48.6 44.1 45.0 
			 Langbaurgh School 56.2 56.2  
			 Keldholme School 57.1 46.8  
			  City of London Academy (Southwark)24.9 27.4 35.4 36.5 
			  The Academy at Peckham60.0 65.8 63.9 50.8 
			 Warwick Park School 82.8 66.3 63.5 
			  Capital City Academy40.7 34.4 34.2 34.9 
			 Willesden High School 38.9 42.5 43.4 
			  West London Academy43.5 45.1 43.3 40.6 
			 Northolt Primary School 34.7 31.7 39.0 37.7
			 The Compton High School and Sports College 44.9 40.3 42.6 n/a
			  Walsall Academy27.1 18.4 13.7 12.0 
			 T P Riley Community School 53.7 53.0 52.2 
			  Manchester Academy50.7 61.8 60.5 51.2 
			 Dude High School 76.9 71.7 63.0 
			  The City Academy Bristol39.3 41.2 46.1 39.7 
			 St. George Community College 37.1 33.4 37.8 
			  The King's Academy37.5 33.2 29.7 26.3 
			 Coulby Newham School 33.6 33.1 32.6 
			 Brackenhoe School 55.7 53.7 56.4 
			  Djanogly City Academy Nottingham33.3 34.2 29.4 32.7 
			 Forest Comprehensive School 60.1 59.4 n/a 
			 Djanogly City Technology College 0.0 30.8 34.5 
			  Mossbourne Community Academy 37.6 45.6 40.6 
			  Lambeth Academy n/a n/a 43.0 
			  London Academy 44.5 44.2 43.0 
			 The Edgware School 45.2 41.3 39.8 39.1
			  Stockley Academy 44.2 44.4 40.8 
			 Evelyns School 37.7 33.2 44.9 42.4
			  Northampton Academy 20.5 17.9 16.3 
			 Lings Upper School 27.6 30.3 35.1 28.5
			  St. Pauls Academy  25.0 25.6 
			 St. Paul's Catholic School 25.1 24.4 27.7 24.2 26.3   
			  Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College  15.1 17.5 
			 Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College 18.8 15.7 12.9 12.0 14.1   
			  Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy  44.9 44.1 
			 Malory School 57.8 57.5 50.2 55.5 53.7   
			  The Harefield Academy  20.4 17.4 
			 John Penrose School 18.5 22.3 17.8 18.9 21.2   
			  The Academy of St. Francis of Assisi  47.4 47.2 
			 Our Lady's Catholic High School 66.1 64.6 62.4 55.9 55.2   
			  Salford City Academy  29.3 18.0 
			 Canon Williamson CofE High School 35.1 31.1 29.9 31.2 29.5   
			  Trinity Academy  22.0 16.4 
			 Thorne Grammar School 24.5 21.1 20.7 20.5 21.6   
			  Dixons City Academy  8.4 7.2 
			 Dixons City Technology College 5.9 6.9 6.4 6.6 8.0   
			  Macmillan Academy  24.8 25.8 
			 Macmillan Academy 23.9 24.5 21.3 18.1 22.6   
			  The Marlowe Academy  34.6 31.5 
			 The Ramsgate School 36.2 37.1 34.0 31.2 35.7   
			 The Petchey Academy   47.8 
			  Burlington Danes Academy   20.6 
			 Burlington Danes CofE School 34.8 35.2 38.3 39.2 37.3 37.4  
			  Harris Academy Bermondsey   60.6 
			 Aylwin Girls' School 51.4 64.8 61.3 62.5 65.5 63.1  
			  Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich   40.6 
			 Waverley School 56.0 51.0 54.3 50.9 52.2 54.2  
			  Paddington Academy   54.7 
			 North Westminster Community School 48.8 45.1 47.1 46.9 45.3 42.6  
			  Westminster Academy   40.7 
			 North Westminster Community School 48.8 45.1 47.1 46.9 45.3 42.6  
			  Harris Academy Merton   30.0 
			 Tamworth Manor High School 19.7 20.3 20.6 17.7 21.9 24.2  
			  St. Marks Church of England Academy   27.1 
			 Mitcham Vale School n/a n/a 26.1 24.8 26.6 27.0  
			  Walthamstow Academy   31.7 
			 The McEntee School 42.8 39.4 62.6 56.4 51.6 53.6  
			  Sandwell Academy   14.4 
			  Grace Academy   29.6 
			 Whitesmore School 31.5 27.4 27.9 30.1 27.4 28.6  
			  North Liverpool Academy   41.1 
			 Anfield Community Comprehensive School 40.3 40.9 41.4 39.9 41.0 40.4  
			 Breckfield Community Comprehensive School 60.4 67.1 68.1 56.1 58.9 60.5  
			  The Barnsley Academy   37.5 
			 The Elmhurst School 52.7 52.6 51.4 50.1 50.3 52.6  
			  Sheffield Park Academy   36.3 
			 Waltheof School 48.5 47.9 47.8 44.3 40.7 39.8  
			  Sheffield Springs Academy   34.9 
			 Myrtle Springs School 42.8 40.3 41.9 36.9 31.5 34.9  
			  David Young Community Academy   42.1 
			 Braim Wood Boys' High School 34.2 39.0 40.2 42.1 39.7 41.7  
			 Agnes Stewart Church of England High School 42.2 45.0 46.6 45.1 43.7 49.4  
			  Landau Forte College   11.2 
			 Landau Forte College 7.8 7.8 8.2 8.8 10.0 10.7  
			  John Madejski Academy   30.4 
			 Thamesbridge College 30.2 36.2 31.8 39.5 34.6 31.0  
			  The Gateway Academy   36.2 
			 The Gateway Community College32.3 30.9 35.2  
			  The Bridge Academy Hackney( 1)
			  St. Mary Magdalene Academy( 1)
			 St. Mary Magdalene CofE Primary School 35.1 44.6 39.0 41.0 41.1 36.9 n/a 
			  St. Matthew Academy( 1)
			 St. Joseph's Academy 39.1 35.6 27.6 32.9 26.7 24.4 n/a 
			 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School 36.3 21.6 18.8 25.9 35.4 26.4 n/a 
			  Walworth Academy( 1)
			 Walworth School 50.9 42.5 39.4 53.1 48.9 37.3 35.8 
			  St. Michael and All Angels CofE Academy( 1)
			 Archbishop Michael Ramsey Technology College 63.4 58.3 52.7 56.3 51.0 50.1 n/a 
			  Bacon's( 1)
			 Bacon's College 33.2 n/a 32.4 25.6 25.8 28.1 31.6 
			  Ashcroft Technology Academy
			 ADT College 25.1 24.8 22.8 22.6 23.7 23.9 24.7 
			  King Solomon Academy( 1)
			  Harris Academy South Norwood( 1)
			 Stanley Technical High School for Boys 21.0 24.3 27.7 25.1 29.7 28.8 n/a 
			  Harris City Academy Crystal Palace
			 Harris City Technology College 20.6 18.7 17.4 17.8 14.8 13.4 11.4 
			  Oasis Academy Enfield( 1)
			  Shireland Collegiate Academy( 1)
			 Shireland Language College 38.4 39.2 42.4 43.6 39.8 41.7 40.6 
			  George Salter Collegiate Academy( 1)
			 George Salter High School 33.4 37.1 35.2 21.1 23.1 27.9 26.9 
			  Belvedere Academy( 2)
			 The Belvedere School GDST n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  William Hulme's Grammar School( 2)
			 William Hulme's Grammar School n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 St. Anne's Academy(1)
			 The Queen Elizabeth School 37.3 39.4 45.9 47.9 42.5 50.5 43.3 
			  Stockport Academy( 1)
			 Avondale High School 35.3 35.3 34.2 33.4 32.4 31.4 30.3 
			  Bradford Academy( 1)
			 Bradford Cathedral Community College 47.8 40.2 40.5 44.5 48.9 53.2 n/a 
			  Bristol Brunei Academy( 1)
			 Speedwell Technology College 21.1 20.7 25.0 22.1 22.0 20.8 21.2 
			  John Cabot Academy
			 John Cabot City Technology College 9.6 9.7 10.3 9.2 7.9 7.4 7.5 
			  Oasis Academy Immingham( 1)
			 The Immingham School 22.9 19.8 21.7 20.0 18.5 17.7 17.4 
			  Oasis Academy Wintringham( 1)
			 Wintringham School 34.7 37.1 35.9 36.1 39.5 40.0 36.8 
			  Havelock Academy( 1)
			 Havelock School 40.6 37.3 35.5 35.7 35.3 35.4 29.0 
			  Barnfield West Academy Luton( 1)
			 Halyard High School 32.0 29.0 27.7 24.7 30.8 30.5 26.0 
			  Barnfield South Academy Luton( 1)
			 South Luton High School 48.0 46.7 40.7 37.5 32.9 34.5 30.5 
			  Eastbourne Church of England Academy( 1)
			 Eastbourne Comprehensive School 25.9 26.7 32.0 32.9 28.1 27.5 26.9 
			  The Samworth Enterprise Academy( 1)
			 Southfields Infant School 68.2 60.1 65.9 61.0 61.5 46.4 51.4 
			 Newry Junior School 62.6 61.2 63.3 61.4 63.7 61.1 53.2 
			  Swindon Academy( 1)
			 Headlands n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 23.7 25.2 
			 Pinehurst Junior School 35.0 38.2 33.1 33.9 29.8 27.5 33.1 
			 Pinehurst Infants' School 40.7 40.9 40.0 38.8 29.1 31.0 30.7 
			  Thomas Deacon Academy( 1)
			 Hereward Community College 37.1 39.6 35.3 35.7 38.6 43.6 33.4 
			 Deacon's School 22.8 15.8 14.8 15.7 13.1 13.5 13.9 
			 John Mansfield School 30.6 27.0 23.9 26.9 25.8 27.1 22.7 
			  Folkestone Academy( 1)
			 The Channel School 40.4 32.0 30.6 29.5 26.9 31.0 25.5 
			  Marsh Academy( 1)
			 Southlands Community Comprehensive School 15.8 12.8 11.7 10.1 7.5 6.5 8.7 
			  Leigh Technology Academy
			 The Leigh City Technology College 6.3 5.3 58 5.5 4.8 6.7 6.6 
			  Spires Academy( 1)
			 Montgomery School 20.7 23.6 21.0 16.8 12.6 14.8 12.8 
			  New Line Learning Academy( 1)
			 Oldborough Manor Community School 43.6 39.7 38.1 37.9 32.6 33.5 35.9 
			 Senacre Technology College 19.5 18.0 24.0 26.5 26.5 24.8 25.2 
			  Cornwallis Academy( 1)
			 The Cornwallis School 7.7 4.8 5.0 5.2 4.5 3.6 3.8 
			  Madeley Academy( 1)
			 Madeley Court School 37.5 37.7 39.2 37.2 33.9 29.8 30.5 
			  North Oxfordshire Academy( 1)
			 Drayton School 18.7 17.9 20.1 20.1 16.8 17.3 14.7 
			 (1 )Academy opened in 2007. (2 )Former Independent day school opened as academy in 2007no figures available.  Note: Information on Academies in italic with predecessor school information given immediately below each relevant academy.  Source: 2007 School Census returns

Departmental Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many reports have been made to his Department's nominated officers under paragraph 16 of the revised Civil Service Code since its publication on 6 June 2006.

Kevin Brennan: Since the publication of the revised Civil Service Code on 6 June 2006, my Department's nominated officers have received two reports made under paragraph 16.

Extra-curricular Activities

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in Hendon are offering extended hours; what additional services they are providing in the extended hours; what funding has been made available for those extended hours; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We want all schools to offer access to extended services by 2010, including providing access to child care and a range of activities, with at least half of all primary and a third of secondary schools doing so by September 2008; The core offer of extended services in and around schools comprises: a varied menu of activities in primary and secondary schools; high quality child care 8 am to 6 pm 48 weeks a year in primary schools; parenting support; swift and easy access to a wide range of specialist support services such as health and social care; and wider community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities.
	We do not hold reliable information on individual services within schools but the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) does collect reliable data on schools delivering access to the extended schools full core offer. We encourage schools to work in clusters to help maximise delivery and to provide more joined up services for their local communities. Clusters often cross constituency boundaries, which means that information on extended services at constituency level must be treated with care. The following table shows the extended schools data for Hendon.
	
		
			  LEAHendon 
			   Number/percentage 
			 Total number of schools 39 
			 Total number of schools providing access to the full core offer 18 
			 Percentage of schools providing access to the full core offer 46,2 
		
	
	The following list shows the schools providing access to the full core offer of extended services in the Hendon parliamentary constituency area.
	Dollis Junior School
	St. Mary's and St. John's CE Primary School
	Woodcroft Primary School
	Independent Jewish Day School
	St. Joseph's RC Junior School
	St. Joseph's RC Infant School
	St. Vincent's RC School
	The Orion Primary School
	The Hyde School
	Fairway Primary School
	Edgware Infant School
	Edgware Junior School
	Dollis Infant School
	Deansbrook Infant School
	Bell Lane Primary School
	Barnfield Primary School
	Parkfield Primary School
	Northway School
	Month to month variations can occur, resulting in figures going down as well as up in individual parliamentary constituencies, for example as a result of local school reorganisations. There are many other schools which are already providing individual parts of the core offer that are not yet included in these figures.
	Funding is not broken down to constituency level. Funding for the extended schools programme for 2008-11 in Barnet is detailed as follows.
	
		
			  Barnet  Start up and sustainability funding 
			 2008-09 1,270,074 
			 2009-10 1,466,160 
			 2010-11 1,401,171 
		
	
	We are providing over 1.1 billion for extended schools in England for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Family Fund: Eligibility

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will increase the age limit for recipients of Family Fund grants to enable those between 16 and 18-years-old to qualify; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: As part of the Children's Plan published on 11 December, the Secretary of State announced an additional 8.4 million over the next three years to allow the Family Fund Trust to increase the eligibility age from 16 to 18 in England.
	The Department already provides 22.8 million annually to the Family Fund, allowing the fund to distribute 38,857 grants in England in 2006-07, averaging 549 per grant. The additional 8.4 million is equivalent to around 16,000 grants for families with 16 and 17-year-old disabled young people over the next three years.
	This renews our commitment to providing low income families with a tailored package of support and is all part of the philosophy of the Children's Plan and part of our drive to end child poverty.

Graduates: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people from  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland graduated from higher education in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest available information is shown in the table. Figures for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
	
		
			  Number of young( 1)  first degree graduates from Cumbria local authority and Copeland parliamentary constituency, English higher education institutions, academic years 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			   Graduates from Cumbria local authority  Graduates from Copeland parliamentary constituency 
			 1996/97 1,000 135 
			 1997/98 1,110 130 
			 1998/99 1,205 160 
			 1999/2000 1,140 155 
			 2000/01(2) 1,250 160 
			 2001/02 1,310 155 
			 2002/03 1,420 170 
			 2003/04 1,425 175 
			 2004/05 1,480 190 
			 2005/06 1,470 180 
			 (1) Young refers to those students aged under 25. (2) From 2000/01 students qualifying from a dormant mode of study are included in the figures, they are excluded in all previous years. Incoming exchange students are excluded from the figures from 2000/01 onwards; they were included in all previous years.  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Secondary Education: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of secondary school pupils were taught in schools with more than  (a) 1,000 pupils,  (b) 1,500 pupils and  (c) 2,000 pupils in (i) 1990, (ii) 1995, (iii) 2000, (iv) 2005, (v) 2006 and (vi) 2007.

Jim Knight: The requested information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies( 1) , number of schools and pupils by size of school( 2) , position in January each year: 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2007, England 
			   Schools with up to and including 1,000 pupils  Schools with 1,001 to 1,500 pupils  Schools with 1,501 to 2,000 pupils 
			   Number of schools  Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3)  Number of schools  Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3)  Number of schools  Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3) 
			 1990 3,244 1,983,150 69.3 677 786,140 27.5 58 94,110 3.3 
			 1995 2,563 1,684,840 56.0 946 1,120,690 37.3 115 190,020 6.3 
			 2000 2,226 1,497,750 46.8 1,146 1,377,020 43.1 186 308,740 9.7 
			 2005 1,839 1,296,690 38.7 1,296 1,572,330 47.0 261 435,420 13.0 
			 2006 1,830 1,292,490 38.6 1,295 1,573,270 47.0 259 433,640 13.0 
			 2007 1,841 1,290,040 38.8 1,270 1,539,480 46.3 266 444,480 13.4 
		
	
	
		
			   Schools with more than 2,000  All schools 
			   Number of schools  Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3)  Number of schools  Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3) 
			 1990 0 0 0.0 3,979 2,863,390 100.0 
			 1995 5 10,450 0.3 3,629 3,006,000 100.0 
			 2000 7 14,900 0.5 3,565 3,198,410 100.0 
			 2005 20 43,240 1.3 3,416 3,347,680 100.0 
			 2006 21 45,090 1.3 3,405 3,344,490 100.0 
			 2007 22 47,540 1.4 3,399 3,321,530 100.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Based on a headcount of pupils. Excludes dually registered pupils. (3) The number of pupils by size band of schools expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census.

Young People: Unemployment

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 16 to 18-year-olds are not in education, training or employment.

Beverley Hughes: We estimate that 206,000 young people of academic age 16 to 18(1) in England were not in education, employment or training (NEET) at the end of 2006. This represents 10.3 per cent. of all 16 to 18-year-olds.
	(1) Academic age is defined as age at the start of the academic year, 31 August.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Cross-disciplinary Research

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much research council spending has been allocated to cross-disciplinary research over the next comprehensive spending review period; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The science budget allocations which I announced on 11 December, set out funding for four major cross-council interdisciplinary programmes. These four programmes are Living with Environmental Change, Ageing, Global Threats to Security and Energy and will allocate a total of 1.3 billion to research in these areas. In addition, research councils fund cross disciplinary research in a wide variety of other areas.

Physics Research

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support physics research in the UK.

Ian Pearson: The overall science budget will be almost 4 billion per year by 2010-11, taking our support for the UK's research base to its highest level ever.
	Our overall expenditure on physics research, postgraduate training and facilities through the Research Councils will exceed 500 million per year by 2010-11.
	Our overall expenditure on physics research, postgraduate training and facilities through the research councils will exceed 500 million per year in 2010-11. This includes investments from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
	In addition, UK universities receive funding from the Higher Education Funding.

Leitch Report

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has for implementing the recommendations of the Leitch report.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to achieving the ambition articulated by Lord Leitch. We set out in world class skills how we would work with our partners, employers, unions, and individuals to affect a skills revolution in this country.
	In November, DWP and DIUS set out in 'Opportunity, Employment and Progression: making skills work', how we will work together so that people can gain the training and support they need to enter and progress in work.

Russell Group

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Russell Group of universities on widening access.

Bill Rammell: This Government remain fully committed to widening access to higher education for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I have had many discussions about this important matter with a range of people, including members of the Russell Group of universities.

Apprenticeships

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the advice available to young people on apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, published a range of measures to improve information, advice and guidance to young people in his Children's Plan. In addition, the Education and Skills Bill, currently before the House, will ensure that all young people receive good information about all routes post-16, including apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeships were offered by  (a) central Government,  (b) local government and  (c) other public bodies in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: There are over 200 different apprenticeship or advanced apprenticeship frameworks on offer to potential learners across more than 80 industry sectors. However, there exists no definitive classification of frameworks by sector of employer.

Manufacturing Businesses

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that manufacturing businesses benefit from innovations developed in English universities.

Bill Rammell: In July 2007 we established the Technology Strategy Board to provide innovation and technology support to business. The Technology Strategy Board is a key delivery partner in supporting collaboration between business and universities and also works closely with the Research Councils. In England, the Government's Higher Education Innovation Fund is another way in which we are helping universities increase their capacity for working with businesses.

Train to Gain

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Train to Gain provision in the west midlands; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Train to Gain has been successful in the West Midlands with 8,334 employers working with the service to identify and meet their training needs. Since April 2006 42,000 employees have started a learning activity and 12,395 have gained a Level 2 qualification. We remain committed to the expansion of Train to Gain as the Government's premier skills service for employers and expect all regions including the West Midlands to step up their performance.

Advanced Apprenticeships

Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the availability of advanced apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: We have announced a major expansion of apprenticeships with Government funding rising to over 1 billion in 2010-11 to boost numbers, including advanced apprenticeships. The balance between advanced apprenticeships and Level 2 apprenticeships reflects employer need. However, the Government will expect to see a significant increase above the current 97,000 advanced apprenticeships in England as we move towards a national entitlement in 2013.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council provided to the Sustainability of Land Use and Transport in Outer Neighbourhoods project.

Ian Pearson: The ,Sustainability of Land Use and Transport in Outer Neighbourhoods, (SOLUTIONS) project received funding of 1.75 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the period April 2004 to September 2008.
	154,136 was also awarded for a scoping study from April 2003 to March 2004.

Higher Education: Sunderland

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of 18 to 22-year-old people from the City of Sunderland were studying at university  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The main measure for tracking progress on increasing participation is currently the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR). This is the sum of the HE initial participation rates for individual ages between 17 and 30 inclusive. It covers English-domiciled first time entrants to HE courses, which are expected to last for at least six months, at UK higher education institutions and English, Scottish and Welsh further education colleges, and who remain on their course for at least six months. The earliest figure is 39.3 per cent for 1999/2000 and the latest available figure is 42.8 per cent. for 2005/06.
	Equivalent figures for the 18-22-year-old age group are 33.4 per cent. for 1999/2000 and 36.2 per cent. for 2005/06.
	Figures for 2006/07 will become available in 2008. The HEIPR is not disaggregated below national level.
	HEFCE's Young participation in Higher Education publication includes the proportion of young people who enter higher education at age 18 or 19 by parliamentary constituency, although this only covers the years up to 2000. Participation rates based on this work are given on the supporting POLAR website (www.hefca,ac.uk/polar). These indicate that, for the cohort reaching 18 in 1997, the proportion of young people from Sunderland who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was 20 per cent.. For the cohort reaching 18 in 2000, the proportion of young people from Sunderland who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was 19 per cent.

Overseas Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which 50  (a) universities and  (b) further education colleges have the highest numbers of non-European Union students registered for courses; and how many such students each has registered.

Bill Rammell: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The latest available information for universities is given in the following table. Figures for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
	
		
			  50 higher education institutions in England with the highest number of non-EU enrolments( 1) , academic year 2005/06 
			  Higher Education Institution  Non-EU enrolments 
			 The University of Manchester 5,195 
			 The University of Nottingham 4,830 
			 The University of Warwick 4,500 
			 The University of Oxford 4,195 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 4,160 
			 Middlesex University 3,825 
			 London Metropolitan University 3,755 
			 The University of Cambridge 3,730 
			 University College London 3,535 
			 The University of Greenwich 3,235 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 3,170 
			 The University of Leeds 3,075 
			 University of the Arts, London 2,980 
			 The University of Birmingham 2,955 
			 The University of Northumbria at Newcastle 2,925 
			 The University of Sheffield 2,790 
			 City University 2,740 
			 The University of Westminster 2,670 
			 University of Hertfordshire 2,600 
			 The University of Sunderland 2,455 
			 The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,360 
			 The University of Leicester 2,320 
			 King's College London 2,305 
			 Loughborough University 2,305 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 2,235 
			 The University of Southampton 2,130 
			 The University of Bath 2,085 
			 The University of Wolverhampton 2,040 
			 Oxford Brookes University 2,040 
			 London South Bank University 2,030 
			 The University of Bradford 1,985 
			 The University of East London 1,975 
			 The University of Bristol 1,960 
			 The University of Essex 1,940 
			 The University of Portsmouth 1,895 
			 University of Durham 1,890 
			 The University of York 1,830 
			 The University of Surrey 1,785 
			 Brunel University 1,725 
			 Kingston University 1,715 
			 Coventry University 1,670 
			 The University of Hull 1,645 
			 The University of Lancaster 1,635 
			 The University of Liverpool 1,610 
			 The Manchester Metropolitan University 1,580 
			 University of Bedfordshire 1,565 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 1,555 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 1,490 
			 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 1,470 
			 The University of Kent 1,460 
			   
			 Others 39,410 
			 Total 164,975 
			 (1) Figures cover postgraduate and undergraduate students on full-time and part-time courses.  Note: Figures are calculated on a snapshot basis as at the 1 December and have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	 (b) Figures for students participating on further education courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) can be derived from the LSC individualised learner record (ILR). The following table shows for 2005/06, the latest year for which full year data are available, the 26 providers delivering LSC funded further education courses with the highest numbers of non-UK students, broken down by whether the students are from the European Union or not. Figures on numbers of non-EU students at providers other than these ones are not readily available.
	
		
			  Providers delivering LSC funded further education courses  EU  Non-EU  Total non-UK 
			 Cambridge Regional College 272 2,518 2,790 
			 Chichester College 1,350 704 2,054 
			 Newcastle College 193 1,353 1,546 
			 Central Sussex College 1,242 299 1,541 
			 Kent County Council 890 599 1,489 
			 South Tyneside College 148 1,305 1,453 
			 Boston College 1,148 220 1,368 
			 Workers' Educational Association 531 819 1,350 
			 Sussex Downs College 628 615 1,243 
			 Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology 708 392 1,100 
			 Guildford College of Further and Higher Education 553 473 1,026 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College 507 508 1,015 
			 Brooklands College 671 341 1,012 
			 Croydon London Borough Council 685 326 1,011 
			 Blackpool and the Fylde College 222 755 977 
			 Barnfield College 408 557 965 
			 Richmond Adult Community College 762 202 964 
			 Sheffield College, The 717 235 952 
			 Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education 804 119 923 
			 West Cheshire College 830 85 915 
			 Liverpool Community College 197 700 897 
			 Bradford College 121 723 844 
			 City College Manchester 48 782 830 
			 The City Literary Institute 679 151 830 
			 Solihull College 574 235 809 
			 Morley College 665 236 801 
			  Source: ILR July 2006.

Student Loans Company

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many reviews were conducted by his Department and its predecessor into the workings of the Student Loans Company in the last three years; and if he will place the results in the Library.

Bill Rammell: There have been no reviews solely of the Student Loans Company in the last three years. However an end to end review of student finance delivery in England was commissioned in 2005 The review looked at the arrangements for delivering financial support to students, including the future role of the Student Loans Company. The findings of the review were published on 31 January 2006 and a copy of the report has been placed in the Library. On 3 July 2006, I announced in a statement to the House our response to the review including plans for transforming the student finance service which will be available for new students applying in September 2008 to enter higher education in 2009/10 academic year.

Student Loans Company

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students from each London borough entering higher education applied for loans from the Student Loans Company in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The available data are given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of students( 1)  in receipt of student loans. Students domiciled in each of the London  boroughs. Academic years 1997 /98 to 2006/07 
			  London borough  1997/98  1998/99  1999/ 20 00  2000/01  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07( 2) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 400 900 1,000 1,000 1,200 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,700 2,100 
			 Barnet 2,000 4,300 4,800 5,300 5,800 6,000 5,900 6,100 6,500 6,900 
			 Bexley 800 1,800 1,900 2,200 2,300 2,500 2,600 2,700 2,800 3,000 
			 Brent 1,900 3,700 4,200 4,800 5,200 5,400 5,500 5,500 5,600 5,800 
			 Bromley 1,600 3,300 3,400 3,800 4,100 4,400 4,500 4,600 4,800 5,000 
			 Camden 1,000 2,000 2,000 2,300 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,600 2,700 2,600 
			 Croydon 1,800 3,800 4,200 4,800 5,100 5,300 5,300 5,500 5,900 6,300 
			 Ealing 1,700 3,400 4,100 4,600 5,100 5,400 5,400 5,600 5,900 6,100 
			 Enfield 1,600 3,200 3,500 3,900 4,200 4,500 4,600 4,800 5,100 5,500 
			 Greenwich 1,000 2,000 2,100 2,400 2,600 2,800 3,000 3,100 3,100 3,300 
			 Hackney 1,100 2,300 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,800 2,900 3,000 3,300 3,300 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 800 1,500 1,500 1,700 1,800 1,800 1,900 1,900 2,000 2,000 
			 Haringey 1,400 2,900 3,000 3,300 3,500 3,600 3,700 3,900 4,100 4,300 
			 Harrow 1,600 3,200 3,800 4,200 4,700 5,000 5,200 5,400 5,500 5,800 
			 Havering 700 1,600 1,700 1,900 2,100 2,100 2,300 2,400 2,600 2,800 
			 Hillingdon 1,000 2,000 2,400 2,800 3,000 3,300 3,400 3,600 3,700 4,000 
			 Hounslow 1,100 2,300 2,500 2,900 3,200 3,200 3,300 3,400 3,600 3,800 
			 Islington 900 2,000 2,000 2,200 2,300 2,400 2,400 2,500 2,700 2,700 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 600 1,300 1,300 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,500 1,500 
			 Kingston upon Thames 800 1,800 1,900 2,100 2,300 2,500 2,500 2,600 2,800 2,900 
			 Lambeth 1,500 3,000 3,100 3,300 3,500 3,700 3,800 4,000 4,300 4,200 
			 Lewisham 1,400 2,700 2,900 3,200 3,400 3,500 3,700 3,800 4,000 4,300 
			 Merton 1,000 1,900 2,100 2,400 2,600 2,700 2,700 2,800 2,900 3,000 
			 Newham 1,300 2,700 3,000 3,600 3,900 4,000 4,300 4,300 4,700 5,100 
			 Redbridge 1,500 3,100 3,400 3,800 4,300 4,700 4,900 4,900 5,200 5,500 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,100 2,300 2,400 2,600 2,800 2,800 3,000 3,000 3,200 3,300 
			 Southwark 1,400 2,800 2,800 3,100 3,200 3,400 3,600 3,800 4,200 4,100 
			 Sutton 800 1,700 1,900 2,200 2,400 2,500 2,500 2,700 2,800 2,900 
			 Tower Hamlets(3) 600 1,400 1,700 1,900 2,200 2,300 2,400 2,600 2,800 2,800 
			 Waltham Forest 1,100 2,300 2,500 2,900 3,100 3,300 3,500 3,400 3,600 3,900 
			 Wandsworth 1,400 2,800 2,900 3,000 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,300 3,500 3,600 
			 Westminster 800 1,500 1,400 1,500 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,700 1,800 1,900 
			 (1) Student numbers rounded to the nearest hundred (2) Fee loans are included from their introduction in 2006/07 (3) City of London is not shown separately since their applications are handled by Tower Hamlets  Source : Student Loans Company (SLC)